Silent Love
by xXnekuXx
Summary: Sakuno cannot speak due to an incident that happened in the past but she was still hired as a maid in the royal family of the Echizens.There,she meets the prince and a knight that fight for her love. AU and OOC. RxR
1. Locket

**A/N: I know I still have other stories to finish but I just have to take this out of my mind! It's an Alternate Universe kind of story and I was planning on using Kirihara as the knight but I figured that RyoSakuKin triangle needs more love~ Sorry if the characters are OOC and don't forget to RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

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><p><strong>Silent Love <strong>

**Chapter One: Locket**

21 year old Ryuzaki Sakuno meekly stood in the middle of the living room of a large mansion. She nervously looked around admiring the beautiful but expensive decorations and paintings.

_'Is it alright for me to be here? This place is so grand for a mere commoner like me.' _Sakuno bowed down and thought.

The doors opened revealing a beautiful brown haired woman wearing an expensive dress with a kind of good looking man who was wearing another expensive tuxedo. Sakuno figured that these two were the king and queen of this kingdom and she instantly bowed out of respect.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Echizen Rinko and this is my husband, Echizen Nanjiroh. You're Ryuzaki Sakuno am I correct?" Rinko asked with a pleasant smile on her face that made Sakuno have a fuzzy feeling in her chest. Sakuno nodded answering her and Rinko added, "You're so cute and has such good manners. Okay then, you're hired as a maid in this house from now on."

Sakuno brightened up as she was accepted by the queen herself and bowed a lot of times with a bright smile on her face. This was her way of expressing her thanks. The king and queen seemed to understand her and walked out of the room.

Another maid came towards Sakuno and introduced herself as Tomoka. She then started to explain the rules of the mansion and the works they would be doing.

~xoxoxoxo~

"Why did you instantly hired that girl without knowing her skills?" Nanjiroh asked his wife while leaning his head backwards with his arms as support.

"She seems like a nice girl. Besides, we already researched on her background and she's not anyone suspicious." Rinko answered, still with a smile on her face. Nanjiroh looked at her suspiciously.

"I'm sure that's not the only reason."

"Right. I just feel so sorry for the girl. When I saw her sitting outside our gates wearing those dirty clothes, I just can't help but lend a hand." Rinko explained while having a hand on her cheek, "Besides, our son needs a new playmate." For some reason, Rinko's nice face turned into a sadistic one that Nanjiroh can't help but back away from his own wife.

~xoxoxoxo~

Back with Sakuno and Tomoka who just finished talking about the rules,

"So, do you get it now?" Tomoka asked. Sakuno nodded but then Tomoka shouted, "Ah! That's no good! You should learn how to say 'Yes ma'am' instead of just nodding your head." Sakuno sweatdropped.

_'Even though she's shouting, she doesn't look angry at me. Thank goodness.' _Sakuno thought after she observed Tomoka's actions.

Sakuno slowly reached out to Tomoka's hand and Tomoka looked at her hand curiously. Sakuno then opened Tomoka's hand and with her right index finger, she wrote words in Tomoka's palm.

_I can't speak. _

Tomoka instantly looked at Sakuno's face, her curiosity over her growing by the minute.

"You can't speak?" Tomoka asked again to make sure and Sakuno just nodded, "How?" Tomoka instantly covered her mouth with her hands as she noticed Sakuno look away sadly.

"I'm sorry. I was too insensitive of your feelings." Tomoka apologized and Sakuno just smiled at her understanding, "But if you have any problems, you can always come to me! I'll help you in any way I can!" Tomoka exclaimed while pounding her chest with her right hand.

Sakuno nodded happily, grateful for having a new kind friend like her. Maybe someday, she can tell Tomoka the reason for her silence.

~xoxoxoxo~

The next morning, Sakuno happily skipped towards the kitchen in order to prepare breakfast for the royalties. She has her eyes closed so she didn't notice the young man sleeping in the middle of the hallway and that lead to her tripping on the young man.

_'It hurts.' _Sakuno thought as she rubbed her head. She was still lying on the ground and when she looked behind, her legs were resting on top of the young man. Sakuno instantly corrected her position, kneeling on the floor facing the young man. The young man has messy red hair and when he opened his eyes upon realizing that he was just tripped on, Sakuno observed the color of his eyes are like topaz or maybe it was hazel.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before." The young man blinked at Sakuno and Sakuno instantly blushed as she realized that she was just a maid in this house and this person might be an important figure in this mansion. Sakuno bowed a lot of times to the young man trying to express an apology.

Unfortunately, the young man seems to be either stupid or just plain clueless to know that and just confusedly looked at Sakuno. Sakuno stopped bowing after noticing the young man doesn't seem to understand. She bit her lip thinking of ways to explain. She just can't grab somebody's hand like that since the young man must be important and would only be disturbed by the fact that a stranger and only a maid would hold his hand.

Due to her luck whatsoever, Tomoka passed by to save the day!

"Tooyama-sama, this is the new maid Ryuzaki Sakuno. She kind of have a problem speaking and earlier just now, she was trying to apologize to you." Tomoka explained to the young man whom she called 'Tooyama'.

"Oh! I see! I'm Tooyama Kintarou, a knight in this mansion! Yoroshuu! Yoroshuu!" Kintarou greeted happily, suddenly grabbing Sakuno's hands and shook them up and down, like a handshake only that it's overly exaggerated. Sakuno blinked and sweatdropped at the sudden change of attitude of the young man but gently smiled as she thought that Kintarou seems to be a nice guy.

"But why can't you speak? Did something happen to you or you were just born unable to speak?" Kintarou asked innocently, not intending to hurt Sakuno's feelings. Tomoka smacked Kintarou's head and Kintarou yelped as he rubbed on the aching spot.

"We'll be continuing with our work now. Also please avoid sleeping anywhere you like." Tomoka scolded. Sakuno looked back at Kintarou wondering if he was okay and at the same time amazed at Tomoka for smacking a person with a higher status than her.

~xoxoxoxo~

"That guy just now can always be found sleeping anywhere. Even if we always remind him not to, he just doesn't listen." Tomoka sighed. Sakuno held Tomoka's hands and wrote some words on it.

_But he seems like a nice guy. _

Tomoka smiled upon learning the fact that Sakuno was opening up to her.

"Yeah he is nice but not only him, everyone here is nice. Well, except for the other maids though." Tomoka said but once she said the words 'other maids', she had this angry face on, "Everyone in the higher status treats you equally so feel free to grab their hands and explain your situation." Tomoka assured Sakuno.

Sakuno smiled brightly as she was very grateful to be sent in a nice place like this where no discrimination happens.

~xoxoxoxo~

Another young man was walking down the same hallway that the meeting between Kintarou and Sakuno happened but stopped as something caught his eye. He went towards that something and picked it up. It was a locket and when she opened it, he saw a picture of an old woman with a child beside her and they were both smiling so happily.

The young man tilted his head not knowing whom it belongs to and just placed it in his pocket for safety measures and continued walking down the hallway.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno frantically looked around the whole mansion looking for something she lost. It was the locket given to her by her grandmother with their picture in it. It was very important to her and it's the only memory she has of her grandmother right now.

Tears formed in her eyes as she find it hard to search the whole mansion for a small thing like a locket. There were so many places to search in and she was losing hope. She hiccuped with no sound as she freely let her tears fall since nobody was there to see anyway. She sat on the ground leaning her back on the wall of the hallway and hugging her knees hiding her tear stricken face. She cried silently as her mind was filled with memories of her grandmother.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps of someone and slightly moved her head to the side to peek at the person going near her. She wished it was Tomoka since she feels that she can tell anything to her even if they just met. But to her disappointment, it was a guy she never saw before. She instantly stood up and rubbed her eyes using her arm to get rid of the tears just as the man approached her.

But the tears won't stop falling even if she tried so hard to stop it. The young man stopped in front of her wondering what the heck was wrong with this girl. Sakuno looked up while her arms covered her eyes thinking that it would stop the tears but it still wouldn't. Sakuno felt so embarrassed to be seen by a stranger in her pathetic state and returned to her position earlier by the wall, hugging her knees.

To Sakuno's surprise, she felt the young man sit beside her but she still didn't dare look at him. Sakuno's thoughts of her grandmother were now forgotten as it was switched by thoughts of the young man's strange behavior. Sakuno waited for the guy beside her to speak but he didn't and that only made Sakuno more confused.

Finally, after calming down a bit, she slowly peeked beside her and saw the guy sitting beside her. He was staring straight ahead with a stoic expression. Now that she saw the guy up close, she observed that the guy was a good looking one with black hair and greenish highlights. His eyes have a nice shade of hazel. Her observation was cut off when the guy looked at her.

Seeing his face fully, Sakuno blushed as she saw that the guy is even more handsome. Sakuno remembered what Tomoka said to her at that moment,

_"Feel free to grab their hands and explain your situation." _Tomoka's words echoed in her mind as she hesitated if she should do it.

In the end, she quickly grabbed the guy's hand and the guy's reaction looked shock but calmed down when Sakuno wrote the words,

_Thank you for being by my side. _

The guy confusedly looked at her, "Why were you crying earlier? Also, are you new here?"

Sakuno nodded and wrote another sentence on his palm with a sad look on her face,

_I'm a new maid here. I just lost something very important to me. _

"I see. Can't you talk?" The guy asked again and Sakuno nodded, "Hn." The guy looked straight ahead again, seemingly observing the garden view in front. Sakuno scrutinized his face for awhile before grabbing his hand again and wrote,

_Your name? I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno. _

The guy looked back at Sakuno and he answered, "Echizen Ryoma."

_'Echizen? I heard that before... AHH! It was the surname of the king and queen! That means, he must be the prince!' _Sakuno made a shocked expression that made Ryoma wonder. Suddenly, Sakuno stood up and bowed low at Ryoma, trying to express her apology for her rudeness.

"So you must have realized that I'm the prince here? But I don't really want to be recognized like that." Ryoma coldly said as he stood up and rubbed the dust off his shorts. Being a prince, it makes you wonder why he would wear such common clothes. Ryoma walked away but suddenly stopped as a thought came to his mind.

_'Lost something important?' _Ryoma reached for his pocket and took out the locket that he picked up earlier, _'Is this hers?' _

Ryoma looked back and saw that Sakuno didn't move an inch from her position and was just looking at him with a curious expression. Sakuno flinched as she noticed Ryoma walking back towards her. Ryoma grabbed Sakuno's hand that made Sakuno blush and there he placed the locket.

Sakuno widened her eyes and tears of joy fell from them. Ryoma slightly panicked thinking that it's not the thing she was looking for but when he was about to take the locket, Sakuno hugged Ryoma.

"Wha-?" Ryoma widened his eyes as this lowly maid dare to hug him. But he doesn't really mind though. Sakuno doesn't seem to be the type of person to flirt with him like what the other maids do. Ryoma was about to pat her head but Sakuno realized what she was doing and instantly backed away from Ryoma while having a blush on her face out of embarrassment.

Sakuno bowed her head lots of times then grabbed Ryoma's hand as she wrote,

_I'm sorry, I'm just really happy that you found it. I thought I lost it forever. _

Ryoma blinked at her and then slightly smiled at her sudden change of attitude compared to before. Sakuno blushed even more when she saw the small smile that spread on his handsome face.

"Glad that you're okay. See ya." Ryoma walked away waving his right hand. Sakuno looked at his back blushing with a gentle expression on her face.

_'I read in shoujo mangas that princes are always stuck-up, rude, snob, arrogant and any other bad trait but he's not like that at all.' _Sakuno thought.

~xoxoxoxo~

"Stop sleeping anywhere you like! Do you know that you're blocking the way?" Ryoma shouted scolding Kintarou by serving him twist serves. Because earlier when Ryoma turned around the corner, he tripped on a sleeping Kintarou and he didn't see him since Kintarou was covered by the wall.

Kintarou ran away from the enraged Ryoma, dodging his serves along the way.

"You're like the princes in shoujo mangas! So evil and sadistic and arrogant and any other bad trait!" Kintarou cried comically.

"Why are you even reading mangas for girls?" Ryoma sweatdropped and finally hit Kintarou successfully that made Kintarou fall flat on the ground.

"You're a devil." Kintarou muttered before fainting.

Well, it seems that Sakuno and Kintarou have different views on Ryoma.

**End of Chapter**


	2. Fiancee

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the faves. This is kinda new to me since I always fantasize about them in high school, not in the adult stage :( But I'll try my best. Here's the next chap. Warning though, it might be bad for Kotoha fans to read this... RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Fiancee <strong>

Sakuno happily swept the floors of the mansion. She smiles with her eyes closed from time to time after remembering the incident with Ryoma. But this time when she opened her eyes, there stood Kintarou, their faces only inches apart. She opened her mouth like she was screaming with no sound and backed towards the wall.

"Woah! Sorry I scared you, Sa-chan!" Kintarou smiled happily at her.

_'Sa-chan?' _Sakuno sweatdropped.

Sakuno sighed and walked towards Kintarou and bowed her head to express her apology. Although, Kintarou ignored what she did and grabbed her hand.

"We're going out!" Kintarou shouted cheerfully and dragged a shocked Sakuno out of the mansion.

They passed by Tomoka and Kintarou said to her, "Tomo-chan! We're going out shopping! Tell it to Koshimae for us~". Then they went out the door. Tomoka blinked at the door for awhile trying to make the happenings around to process in her mind.

"I wonder what that Tooyama got in mind this time." Tomoka sighed.

"Where are they going?" Tomoka felt a chill. Slowly and nervously, she looked behind her and her instincts were correct as Ryoma was standing behind her.

Tomoka gulped, _'Crap, did I mention to Sakuno-chan that Ryoma-sama hates people who skip their work? Especially if they're maids. Oh no, Ryoma-sama has a certain hatred for maids because all they do is fawn over him and not doing their jobs. But, but, Sakuno-chan might be saved since it was Tooyama who took her.' _

"Are you just gonna stare or are you gonna answer my question?" Ryoma asked again, clearly impatient for an answer.

"Oh, sorry Ryoma-sama. Actually, Tooyama-sama kind of kidnapped Sakuno-chan to go shopping somewhere." Tomoka stuttered out of nervousness as she explained what happened, "I know it's bad to blame others but don't blame Sakuno-chan for skipping work."

Silence followed and Tomoka gulped, waiting for Ryoma's reply.

"Hn." Ryoma walked away leaving Tomoka praying that he wouldn't give a hard punishment.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kintarou and Sakuno walked side by side together while holding hands. If it wasn't for Sakuno's maid outfit, people would think they were a couple on a date.

Sakuno realized that it would be useless to struggle against Kintarou's tight hold and even if she did succeed, she doesn't know how to get back to the mansion because one, this is the first time she went to this area, two, she has a bad sense of direction and three, she can't ask people for directions.

Sakuno took a glance at Kintarou, who was only displaying a happy, smiling face. It made Sakuno wonder more where they're going.

"We're here!" Kintarou shouted as he faced Sakuno. Sakuno looked in front of them and saw that they were in a sort of shop where they buy materials for studying. Kintarou dragged Sakuno inside and they headed towards the whiteboard section. Sakuno looked questioningly at Kintarou.

"We're gonna buy you a whiteboard and a marker so you can write what you want to say instead of writing your words on people's palms. This way is easier! Let's look for a small one that you can carry anywhere." Kintarou said as he proceeded to look for a small whiteboard that is easy to carry. Sakuno blinked at Kintarou but smiled right after.

After a while, they finally found the right whiteboard and walked out of the shop satisfied.

"Let's go back. I forgot that Koshimae is very strict about maids skipping work. Waah! I'm so sorry for dragging you! I tend to do things on impulse. I'll back you up explaining to Koshimae though so don't worry." Kintarou said and was about to walk back but Sakuno held on his shirt that made him stop and look at Sakuno. Sakuno wrote words on her whiteboard and showed them to Kintarou.

_It's okay. Actually, I'm really grateful for this and I don't know how to repay you. Thank you so much!_

"Eh? You don't have to pay me!" Kintarou said but Sakuno looked down that made Kintarou add, "Well, think of it as sorry for hurting your feelings back then when we first met." Sakuno looked up at Kintarou with a smile and nodded happily.

~xoxoxoxo~

There was awkward silence as Kintarou and Sakuno stood in front of Ryoma. They were currently in the living room and Sakuno held her whiteboard tightly while Kintarou looked away, scratching his cheek out of nervousness. When they got home, Kintarou and Sakuno immediately looked for Ryoma to apologize and explain what happened and that led them to their current silence waiting for Ryoma's reply.

Ryoma sighed and Kintarou and Sakuno immediately looked straight at him.

"I don't really mind what you did but Tooyama, say something first to me before leaving and dragging others." Ryoma said with a frown.

"Really? You're letting us go without a punishment? When these things happen, you give me a punishment and let the one I dragged to go free. Did something happen?" Kintarou asked dumbfounded.

_'So I'm not the only one he dragged?' _Sakuno sweatdropped.

"I'm in no mood to think of your punishment." Ryoma sighed. Sakuno wrote on her whiteboard and showed Ryoma.

_You look a bit down. Did something happen? If I may ask... _

Ryoma read what Sakuno wrote and sighed again, "Kitazono Kotoha's coming here tomorrow." Ryoma said in a deadpanned face. Kintarou freaked out while Sakuno looked at them back and forth wondering what the fuss is about.

"K-K-Kitazono is Koshimae's fiancee." Kintarou shakingly said.

_'Fiancee?' _Sakuno frowned at the word. Her thoughts were interrupted as Kintarou grabbed Sakuno's shoulders and shook her.

"Sa-chan! Never ever ever go near that woman alone! Ever!" Kintarou frantically said while shaking Sakuno. Sakuno nodded dizzily and Kintarou finally let her go.

_Is she that scary? Tooyama-sama even called her by her last name unlike with me and the others. _Sakuno wrote.

"When I called her Koto-chan, she smacked me hard on the head and demanded to be called Kitazono-sama since she's of a higher status than I am." Kintarou sniffed, "By the way, just call me Kin-chan." Kintarou smiled.

"At least you only get a smack on the head." Ryoma sighed. Kintarou sat beside Ryoma on the couch and patted his shoulder.

"I feel sorry for you Koshimae that you have to marry her." Kintarou sniffed. Ryoma twitched and smacked Kintarou on the head.

"If you feel sorry for me then help me find a way out of that stupid marriage!" Ryoma said with a vein pop on his head.

Sakuno giggled with no sound and both looked at her. She noticed this and coughed silently, _Sorry. It just looked like you two are really bestfriends. _

Ryoma and Kintarou looked at each other and then they looked away from each other disgusted.

"Koshimae always hits me. He's not worthy to be called my bestfriend." Kintarou pouted.

"A stupid guy like Tooyama's not worthy to be called my bestfriend." Ryoma said with annoyance. Sakuno just smiled at them.

_Is it an arranged marriage? _Sakuno can't help but ask. It's really bothering her that Ryoma has a fiancee.

"Yeah. It was even arranged without my permission. Stupid parents deciding everything for me." Ryoma said.

Suddenly, the door opened and out came the person they least wanted to see.

"Kitazono-sama!" Kintarou shouted and suddenly stood up and bowed. While his head was bowed, he was whispering to Ryoma words like, "I thought she'll come tomorrow. Why is she here?"

"I thought she'll come tomorrow too." Ryoma whispered back.

"Ryoma!" Kotoha said in a sing sang voice as she ran towards Ryoma and hugged him.

Ryoma pushed her away and asked, "I thought you'll be here tomorrow." Kotoha pouted.

"I decided to surprise you. Were you?" Kotoha asked with a finger on her lips. Ryoma and Kintarou looked at her disgustingly. Good thing Kotoha didn't notice since she was too busy eyeing Sakuno.

"Aren't you a maid? You should be working, not hanging out with MY Ryoma and with this idiot." Kotoha said in a stern voice that made Sakuno flinch. Sakuno bowed low and quickly went to work.

"She's my maid. You have no right to order her around." Ryoma said with a hint of anger in his voice. Kotoha widened her eyes at this but then she smirked right after.

"Well, you're my fiance and what you own will be mine as well when we get married." Kotoha smirked, "And what are you still doing here jungle boy?"

Kintarou flinched as Kotoha noticed his existence but left right after. When he was sure Kotoha can't see his face anymore, Kintarou stuck his tongue out and made a disgusted sound. Kintarou closed the door behind him and sighed, "Good luck Koshimae."

"IF we get married. You do know that I have no intention of marrying you." Ryoma countered back at Kotoha's statement earlier.

"We will get married. You can't do anything to stop our lovely marriage you know." Kotoha challenged.

"Watch me, I will." Ryoma said with a deadly glare. Ryoma then stalked out of the room.

Kotoha stared at the door angrily.

_'I won't back down without a fight. I'm gonna make sure that I will be the next queen.' _Kotoha thought angrily, _'But the maid earlier seems like a threat. Ryoma showed signs of anger when I scolded that maid. Hmm...' _

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno was dusting the vases but her thoughts are far away from her work at that moment.

_'Ryoma-sama may not have feelings for Kitazono-sama but it still hurts knowing that he will be married to another girl someday. If I'm not a maid at this place, would I get a chance with him as well?' _Sakuno shook her head at the thought, '_Don't get your hopes up. It's nearly impossible. Just impossible. Ahaha...' _Sakuno frowned.

"Ryuzaki." Sakuno got shocked as someone called her and it was the voice she knows so much that she accidentally dropped the vase she was holding. Good thing Ryoma caught it. Sakuno gasped silently and bowed her head over and over again to express her apology.

"It's okay, I'm the one who shocked you anyway. I just came here to tell you that I want you to attend a speech rehabilitation school. I already paid for it and all and you don't have to worry about that. Your payment would stay the same." Ryoma explained. Sakuno widened her eyes and grabbed her whiteboard from the table near them.

_Does that mean that the speech rehab is free? _Sakuno hesitantly asked. Ryoma nodded.

_Why would you do that for me? I can work here until I pay it off. _Sakuno argued.

Ryoma sighed, "You don't have to. I'm doing this of my own free will. My parents even wanted you to enter that speech rehab."

_Thank you so much! _Sakuno looked at Ryoma with puppy eyes. She's really lucky to be found by this family. Ryoma smirked and gave Sakuno the vase.

"By the way, don't break that vase. It's really expensive." Ryoma said and left. Sakuno laughed silently.

Unknown to them, the whole scene was seen by Kotoha. She had a smirk on her face as if she thought of an evil plan to ruin Sakuno.

Kotoha casually walked up to Sakuno, who was still staring after Ryoma, and tapped her on the shoulder. Sakuno flinched and immediately looked behind her and was shocked to find that it was Kotoha. Instead of dropping the vase, she held it tighter and bowed to show respect.

"I heard from some maids that you can't speak?" Kotoha asked with a smile on her face. Sakuno knows that it's bad to suspect people but she suspected that smile to be fake anyway.

Sakuno nodded and placed the vase on the table to write on her whiteboard.

_Do you need something from me, Kitazono-sama? I'm sorry if you have to communicate with me like this. _Sakuno suddenly thought of the usefulness of the whiteboard when she figured that this Kotoha girl wouldn't want a lowly maid like her to hold her hand.

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to talk with you. I noticed earlier at the living room that you're friends with Ryoma and the jungle boy?" Kotoha asked with a sweet voice. Sakuno figured that her voice was fake also.

_I don't know if we're friends but it's fun being with them. _Sakuno hesitantly wrote on her board.

"I see. But..." Sakuno shuddered as she noticed a slight change in Kotoha's voice. The warning Kintarou gave her suddenly came to mind. "I bet they're only hanging out with you out of pity. They may be silent about it but in reality, you are a big bother to them. Who would even want to converse with a silent person?" Kotoha smirked as she went towards the vase that Sakuno just placed on the table. Sakuno watched in horror as Kotoha's hand went near the vase.

"I wonder, would Ryoma hate you if you broke this vase? Even after warning you not to break it and you did." Kotoha smirked before pushing the vase to the floor and cracked into pieces. Sakuno kneeled down and stared at the broken vase in horror. Kotoha mockingly laughed and walked away. She's probably going to see Ryoma and blame Sakuno for the broken vase.

Sakuno sadly picked up the pieces of the vase. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She thought that a world where the person you love hates you is a very painful world. Thinking about that deeply, she didn't notice the cuts forming in her hands from picking up the pieces.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kotoha skipped to Ryoma's room after she rudely asked a maid where he is. Without knocking, Kotoha opened the door and saw Ryoma looking out the window. Ryoma knew that it was Kotoha since she's the only person who goes in without knocking. Even Kintarou knocks before opening the door. Although after knocking, Kintarou would open the door immediately, not waiting for a reply.

"What do you want?" Ryoma said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"A maid accidentally dropped a vase she was cleaning. What are you people thinking hiring a clumsy maid like her? I just called her to ask where you are and she drops the vase. I bet she isn't trained..." Kotoha continued badmouthing the maid but stopped as soon as Ryoma left the room in a hurry. Kotoha smirked.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno was still picking up the pieces of the vase when she noticed someone heading her way. She looked up and stared at the person with a frightened face. It was the least person she wanted to see at that moment. She immediately stood up and the tears suddenly fell from her eyes. She bowed low to hide them and also to apologize for the broken vase.

Ryoma glanced at the vase then on her hand. Ryoma also saw the tears that fell to the floor. He sighed and held Sakuno's hand and asked, "What are you doing picking up the pieces of a broken vase? You can just sweep them you know."

Sakuno looked up at Ryoma in shock. She withdrew her hand and went to get her board.

_You're not mad? I broke the vase even if you just told me not to. _Sakuno decided to admit that she broke the vase since she figured that Ryoma wouldn't believe her and would only hate her if she blamed Kotoha.

"I didn't believe her story at all." Ryoma said and grabbed Sakuno's hand, "Come on, let's fix those wounds." Ryoma dragged Sakuno to the kitchen where they keep the first aid and ordered a maid they passed by to clean the broken vase. The maid looked at Sakuno with envy after they passed her.

Ryoma made Sakuno sit on a chair and kneeled down to treat her hands. Sakuno blushed as she watched Ryoma carefully holding her hands and placing band aids on the wounds.

When he was done, Sakuno wrote on her board, _Thank you. But why didn't you believe her story?_

"You're not the one who broke the vase right?" Ryoma asked and Sakuno nodded, "Well, that's that. For some reason, I can trust you more than her. Maybe it's because of your innocent face or something." Ryoma shrugged.

"Besides, that vase may be expensive but it's not rare. We could always buy another one like it." Hearing Ryoma say those things, Sakuno felt really glad. Sakuno's smile returned and instead of tears of sadness, there were tears of joy in her eyes.

_'A real prince really is a nice kind of guy. I love him.' _

~xoxoxoxo~

"Kaa-san, isn't there any way for me to break free of this marriage?" Ryoma desperately asked his mother. Rinko blinked at her son.

"Is there something wrong with Kotoha-chan?" Rinko asked. Apparently, Rinko doesn't know Kotoha's other side.

"There are many things wrong with that woman. Earlier, she just blamed Ryuzaki for breaking a vase that Ryuzaki never broke at all. Also, I heard from Tooyama that she smacked him on the head. Tooyama may be smack-worthy but smacking him just because of a nickname. It's unreasonable so please break off this damn marriage." Ryoma let off some steam and this might be the first time that Ryoma said so many words in one statement.

After Ryoma's outburst, Rinko can't help but giggle. Ryoma vein popped, "I'm serious here!"

"Okay, okay. If you hate her that much that you even defended Kin-chan, then I'll cancel the marriage. But..." Rinko's face became serious as she uttered the word 'but', "You have to find a suitable wife for you before this year ends got it?"

"Hai." Ryoma answered. He'll do anything just to get away from that woman. But, where will he find such a woman suitable for him?

"Kaa-san, will any girl of any status do?" Ryoma asked with his eyes showing that he's thinking of something else while asking the question. Rinko smiled and nodded.

"Do you like one of our maids here?" Rinko teased. Ryoma flinched.

"Wha-? No. I-I was just asking." Ryoma frowned and looked away. Rinko giggled.

"Stop laughing." Ryoma vein popped and walked out of the room before his mom tease him more.

As he closed the door, a smirk formed in his mouth.

_'I don't mind one bit if that girl would be my wife. After all, she doesn't bother me.' _

**End of Chapter**


	3. Seduction

**A/N: Sorry for not updating this story for a long while. I was concentrating on finishing Ryoma's Boyfriend? first. Anyway, I was bored so I updated. :) Sorry if I'm lazy. Was just playing random games. Also, OMG in this chapter. This is hard to write. It's the first time I write this kind of heated sensation. Anyway, I tried my best so don't forget to RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Seduction <strong>

Sakuno was happily hanging Tomoka's clothes on the wardrobe while humming a happy tune. She just finished doing the laundry and she offered to do Tomoka's laundry as well. She remembered how Tomoka looked at her like she was an angel sent from heaven when she offered to help her. Sakuno silently giggled.

Ryoma passed by and noticed a slightly open door. Being the curious cat that he is, he peeked in first before closing it for real but decided otherwise when he saw Sakuno. He slowly and quietly sneaked inside. He slightly closed the door but not closing it fully to avoid being found out. He just made sure that no one could peek in it. He then inched quietly towards Sakuno. When he was near enough, he smirked and hugged her from behind. Sakuno shrieked but no sound came out. She turned her head to see who it was and all the blood came to her face as she saw that it was Ryoma.

_'What is he doing hugging me?' _Sakuno thought as her head is swirling from all the blood in her head.

Ryoma smirked even more seeing her expression and said with his seductive voice, "Do you want to play with me tonight?"

_'Play?' _Sakuno thought and tilted her head to question what he meant. They were still in the same position and Sakuno was kind of happy that she's being embraced by the guy she idolizes so she didn't struggle. Yet.

Ryoma answered her question by licking her ear. Sakuno closed her eyes and blushed as she felt a tingling sensation. She shivered at the warmth and wetness of Ryoma's tongue and she suddenly realized what he meant by 'play'. She pushed Ryoma away from her instantly. Sakuno's face was so red and her hand grabbed the ear that was licked. She bowed her head instantly and ran away from the room.

Ryoma watched her with an amused expression as she ran away and thought, '_She's different from others. She doesn't fawn over me and that is my ideal girl. Who would want a wife who always fawn over your every move?' _Ryoma smirked and placed his hands in his pockets as he walked away from the room.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno was still running along the hallway and she can't keep the incident that just happened away from her mind.

_'Why would he do something like that? I thought he was the nice type of prince but I thought wrong.' _Sakuno thought as she ran away with her eyes closed. Sakuno's kind prince imagination cracks as an image of a devilish (but seductive) prince was replaced.

Sakuno was too confused in her thoughts that she didn't notice where she was going until she bumped into someone. Due to the impact and her fast running, she fell and her butt hit the floor.

"Whoa! Easy there. What's your hurry?" A voice that seemed so familiar to her asked. Sakuno looked up and saw Kintarou with a grin on his face as he offered a hand to help her up. Sakuno took the hand and bowed, apologizing for bumping into him.

"It's okay! All okay!" Kintarou cheerfully exclaimed. Sakuno gently smiled. Kintarou's cheerfulness always make her feel at ease even after all the confusion she's been through. His cheerful smile makes one smile as well, like a contagious disease.

"So, what's the hurry, Sakuno-chan?" Kintarou asked once again, still with the bright smile on. Sakuno wondered if Kintarou's cheeks doesn't hurt from all the smiling he's doing.

Sakuno was about to write on her board but realized that she left it in the room earlier. Sakuno sheepishly looked at Kintarou as he tilted his head waiting for her answer. Sakuno pointed hesitantly at Kintarou's hand and Kintarou stared at his hand once she did. He unconsciously raised his hand to Sakuno and she took it with shaking hands.

_Ryoma-sama, he... _

Sakuno stopped writing on Kintarou's hand as she thought that Kintarou might not believe her story. She shook her head and rubbed her hand on Kintarou's like she was erasing what she wrote.

_It's nothing. Don't worry about it. _

Sakuno smiled at Kintarou but Kintarou's smile disappeared as it was replaced with worry.

_'She just wrote Koshimae's name on my hand earlier right? Did something happen between them?' _Kintarou worriedly thought. He felt uneasy when something is happening between Ryoma and Sakuno without him knowing it and he still doesn't understand why he feels that way.

"Well, if you say it's nothing then I won't ask anymore." Kintarou said. Sakuno widened her eyes and so did Kintarou. Usually, Kintarou would ask endlessly until the person answers but this time he let it go. Sakuno noticed the difference in his actions and so did Kintarou himself. Kintarou couldn't understand why he doesn't want to interrogate Sakuno when he always does it to others without failing. He always gets the truth when he asks because of his stubbornness but this is a different case. He actually let it go.

Sakuno smiled again at Kintarou, thankful that he didn't ask more and bowed indicating that she has to get going soon. Kintarou just nodded as his thoughts are still busy thinking of why he's acting so weird around her.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno's next chore is cooking and that's what she's doing now. She cuts the vegetables carefully and skillfully. Because of Kintarou's easygoing attitude, Sakuno can concentrate more on her job rather than Ryoma's actions. Sakuno's cheerfulness in her work came back as she smiled while cutting the vegetables.

"Yo." A voice from behind greeted and Sakuno shivered upon knowing that tone of voice. She flinched as she realized that she accidentally wounded her finger with the knife she was holding.

Ryoma's smug attitude was replaced with worry when he noticed the wounded finger. He quickly went towards her and held the wounded hand.

"You need to be more careful!" He scolded and was about to drag her to the sink but decided that he would tease her instead. He smirked at Sakuno and it was answered by a blush.

Sakuno thought, _'When Ryoma-sama does that expression, it usually means that something bad will happen.' _

Sakuno braced herself for what was going to happen and was at the verge of fainting when Ryoma put the wounded finger in his mouth. Sakuno's whole face was red and she tried to take her finger out of Ryoma's mouth but Ryoma held on to her wrist tightly preventing her to take it back.

Ryoma's tongue licking the wound sent shivers down Sakuno's spine and Sakuno closed her eyes tightly trying to control her desire for more. Forget the something bad that happen part she thought earlier, she likes this kind of feeling. She likes what Ryoma is doing to her right now. But for a maid to be experiencing this kind of treatment, it's just weird in so many ways. Maybe, maybe Ryoma's just playing with her? Playing with her feelings?

Sakuno got angry and sad at the thought and pulled her hand away from Ryoma with all her strength successfully. Ryoma stared at Sakuno's expression in shock. Her face was red and she has this sad and angry expression at the same time as she held her hand in front of her chest.

Sakuno picked up her board and wrote,

_I'm fine now. I'm going to continue my work so if you would kindly leave so I could work properly. _

Sakuno bowed and continued her work. She just hopes she won't get fired by saying (or writing) that kind of sentence to the prince.

Ryoma looked away from her and felt guilty after seeing that kind of expression. He thought that he must've went too far and hurt her feelings along the way. He walked away from the room with his expression unreadable.

Unknown to them, a maid witnessed all that had happened and was now glaring at Sakuno with jealousy.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno was now done with cooking and was preparing the table. She noticed a presence and turned her head and saw another maid. The maid's face was cute and innocent and Sakuno thought that she must be a nice person.

"Can I help you in preparing the table?" The maid smiled as she asked. Sakuno was shocked at first but smiled and nodded.

They were now both preparing the table but as soon as the maid is not in Sakuno's view, the maid would smirk with a hint of evilness in it.

"Ne, I saw you and Ryoma-sama earlier. He was licking your finger right? I wonder what would happen if that news got out?" The maid asked with a threatening voice. She has a smile on her making one be confused as to whether she's a nice or a bad person.

Sakuno looked at the maid in shock. She didn't thought of it that much. What would happen if people found out that Ryoma's doing those things with her? It would ruin his reputation. It's alright if she was the only one to get ruined but she doesn't want Ryoma's image to be ruined as well.

"Why does it have to be you? Are you seducing him when no one's looking?" The maid was now shouting at Sakuno and Sakuno can't help but bow her head. Her eyes hidden. She tried to take it all in and hoped that the maid wouldn't tell anyone. She really didn't want Ryoma to be experiencing hard things like people talking bad behind his back.

"Why aren't you reacting? Feeling smug that Ryoma-sama chose you huh?" The maid got the pitcher fulled with water on the table and splashed the water inside to Sakuno's direction.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma was walking back to the kitchen to apologize to Sakuno for his actions. If heaven permit it, he would tell the reason for his actions. Like hell he would. He wouldn't tell the reason even if he dies. It's like telling her to marry him right here, right now.

_"Why does it have to be you? Are you seducing him when no one's looking?" _

Ryoma heard a maid shouting from inside the dining room and Ryoma got worried that it was Sakuno the maid was shouting at.

'_Whoever that maid is, she is gonna get fired for shouting at Ryuzaki.' _Ryoma thought.

Ryoma ran towards the dining room and saw that it was a maid shouting at Sakuno.

"Why aren't you reacting? Feeling smug that Ryoma-sama chose you huh?"

Ryoma widened his eyes realizing that it was all his fault that Sakuno was experiencing this kind of treatment. If he didn't do those things to her, no one would've seen and no one would've hurt Sakuno. Ryoma noticed the maid picking up a pitcher with water and deduced that she would throw it at Sakuno. Ryoma ran quickly towards Sakuno and just as the water was thrown, he successfully reached her.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the cold water to be splashed on her but nothing came. There were some drops she felt but nothing more. She opened her eyes and was shocked to see that Ryoma covered her. Ryoma was dripping wet from head to toe and the maid's expression was horrified. The maid dropped the pitcher and it crashed into a million pieces.

"R-Ryoma-sama..." The maid stuttered. Then she went to get a handkerchief from her pocket and was about to wipe Ryoma's face using it but Ryoma slapped the maid's hand away.

"Don't touch me. Pack your things, you're fired." Ryoma said with a dangerous voice. Tears fell from the maid's eyes and she covered her face with her hand as she ran away from the room.

Ryoma sighed and tried to squeeze the water out of his clothes but stopped as soon as he felt Sakuno hug him from behind. He tried to look at Sakuno but couldn't see what expression she's wearing.

"If you have any problems, you can freely talk to me. I'll read every word you want to say." Ryoma muttered.

Sakuno cried after she heard Ryoma say those words. Forget the devilish prince image. Ryoma was the kindest prince you can ever ask for. Sakuno cried her feelings out. Feelings of not believing in Ryoma all the way. Feelings of love for him. She continued to cry on Ryoma's back and Ryoma waited patiently for Sakuno to calm down, not moving one bit. They continued to stay in that position until Sakuno calmed down.

**End of Chapter**


	4. Captured

**A/N: Sorry if I update so slow... I was watching all 103 episodes of D Gray-man and was also planning on reading the whole manga. I was also playing lots of games and there are exams coming up though I don't really study so forget that. I am a lazy person :( Here's the next chapter though. RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Captured <strong>

Somewhere around the world, a womanly figure stood leaning against the wall of an alley. It appears that she was talking to someone on the phone.

"_I can do anything I want with her right?" _said a voice from the phone.

"Yeah. Rape her, hit her, whatever, I don't care. Just keep her away from Ryoma." The woman calling answered.

"_Hehehe. I'll do just that. Bye." _The voice said then hung up.

The woman smirked and somewhere else, you can see a guy holding a picture of a girl with auburn hair in a maid uniform. The guy smirked and licked his lips as he stared at the picture.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno was dusting some dirt on a bookshelf and stopped midway. She blushed as soon as she remembered the previous moment that happened between her and Ryoma. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued dusting.

Kintarou, passing by, noticed Sakuno and smiled brightly. He sneaked up to her and covered her eyes and said, "Guess who~?" very cheerfully.

Sakuno squirmed. She knows who it is already but she can't figure out how to tell it to Kintarou.

Kintarou blinked after seeing no response from his victim. He widened his eyes upon realizing that his victim can't talk. Meaning she can't answer his question.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry. I forgot that you can't talk. And you can't possibly right properly on your board when your eyes are covered." Kintarou said as he removed his hands from Sakuno's eyes.

Sakuno turned and smiled at him making it look like it was no big deal for her. Kintarou smiled back but frowned right away after remembering the conversation he just had with Ryoma.

**Flashback **

_"Koshimae? Did something happen? I just saw Koto-chan running out of the mansion." Kintarou approached Ryoma who was smirking while leaning against a door and asked him. _

_"Engagement is off. I'm a free man." Ryoma said as his smirk grew wider. Kintarou sweatdropped. _

_"Well, good for you. So what's the dirt? I mean, you can't possibly break it off that easily. There must've been some kind of conditions to be met." Kintarou asked. For some reason, he's being really smart today. _

_"Did you eat something that made you smart for a day?" Ryoma asked with slightly widened eyes. It's rare to see Kintarou being this logical about these kinds of things. _

_Kintarou stared at Ryoma with a bored expression, "I'm serious." _

_"Kaa-san just said that I have to find a suitable replacement before this year ends. That's all." Ryoma shrugged. _

_"Eh? Then who will you choose?" Kintarou asked. Deep inside, Kintarou felt a bad feeling. The feeling that he's gonna lose something important to him. _

_Ryoma's smirk came back, "Someone who does not obsess over me." Ryoma answered as he walked away, waving a hand to Kintarou. _

_Kintarou stared at Ryoma as he walked away. _

_'Not obsessed...? Could it be Sa-chan?' Kintarou thought as he suddenly felt a feeling of sadness overcoming him. _

_He chased after Ryoma, ran past him and stopped in front of him. Ryoma halted and looked at Kintarou with a questioning look. _

_"You can't! Not Sa-chan!" Kintarou shouted with a slightly angry tone. Ryoma gave him a weird look. Kintarou popped his mouth open as he realized what he just blurted. _

_"I mean, not Sa-chan because she's an innocent and kind person. Choosing her without having feelings for her is just like using her. She doesn't deserve that kind of treatment." Kintarou reasoned. _

_"Tooyama, you're being overly protective of her. Do you have feelings for her?" Ryoma asked with a suspicious look in his eyes. _

_Kintarou swallowed, 'Do I?' he thought. _

_Kintarou shook his head, "No, I'm just saying that she's a nice person and using her just isn't right." _

_Ryoma stared long and hard at Kintarou then walked away without saying a word. Kintarou turned to look at Ryoma but he didn't stop until he disappeared from Kintarou's point of view. _

_'He didn't change his mind.' Kintarou frowned. _

**End of Flashback **

Sakuno waved a hand in front of Kintarou noticing that Kintarou was just staring off into the distance. Kintarou snapped back to reality and put a hand on the back of his hair.

"Ah! Sorry Sa-chan. I just remembered an incident that happened last time. By the way Sa-chan, did Koshimae do anything to you?" Kintarou hesitantly asked.

Sakuno blushed as soon as she heard Kintarou utter Ryoma's nickname but shook her head denying that something happened.

Kintarou noticed the blush and didn't believe Sakuno's denial. He knows that something happened.

"Well, be careful around Koshimae! He can kill! Just give him a tennis racquet and a tennis ball." Kintarou shuddered. Sakuno giggled and nodded. Kintarou smiled as he saw the cheerful attitude Sakuno is showing. Seeing Sakuno happy is enough for Kintarou to make him happy as well.

~xoxoxoxo~

The head maid approached Sakuno that afternoon. Sakuno freaked out a bit when she noticed she was being approached by the head maid. With the strict look the maid had, it's enough to get freaked out and run away from her. But Sakuno stood her ground and thought of things that she disobeyed while working in the mansion.

"You'll be going shopping with Tooyama-sama as a guide. You're new to the marketplace right? Tooyama-sama can help you with the directions and also with conversations. Here's the list of things you're going to buy and this is the money." The head maid instructed as she handed the list and a wallet to Sakuno. Sakuno breathed a sigh of relief seeing that she wasn't in trouble. "He's waiting at the front gate right now. Hurry up and get ready."

Sakuno nodded and hurriedly went out of the mansion to meet up with Kintarou.

Kintarou waved his hand up high as soon as he saw Sakuno outside. Sakuno stopped and smiled for a bit and then ran towards him.

"Let's go!" Kintarou cheerfully exclaimed.

~xoxoxoxo~

"This is the second time we hanged out of the mansion." Kintarou said, bringing up a topic.

Sakuno nodded and wrote on her board,

_You dragged me out the first time. _

Kintarou read and laughed, "Sorry, sorry. I'm always like that so you better get used to it!"

They chatted about random things every now and then until they reached the marketplace. They looked at the list and Kintarou would point in a direction where the thing is supposed to be found. Looking from another person's view, it looked like they were a newly married couple shopping for necessities together. But that wasn't the case because of their attire. Sakuno was wearing her maid clothes and Kintarou's knight clothes. Some people would think it was forbidden love and some just looked at them like they were just innocently doing some errands together. Sheesh, their clothes make them stand out too much in that marketplace that people would stare at them as they pass by.

It was the final thing to buy in the list and Kintarou looked around the area wondering where it could be found. With Kintarou's attention away from Sakuno, a guy crept up near Sakuno and covered Sakuno's mouth with a handkerchief. Sakuno widened her eyes and tried to look behind her to see who it is but realized that she was feeling very sleepy. She slowly closed her eyes and the final thing she saw was Kintarou still looking for the final ingredient and his figure was slowly getting farther away from her.

"Ah! Found it Sa-?" Kintarou turned back to Sakuno but saw that she wasn't there.

"Sa-chan?" Kintarou searched left and right but he could not see Sakuno anywhere. Kintarou panicked.

_'Could she have been lost? But we're just standing here. She doesn't seem the type to walk around alone. Kidnapped?' _Kintarou freaked out at the last thought. He ran around the marketplace with the shopping bags while desperately searching for Sakuno's whereabouts.

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno slowly opened her eyes and immediately widened them as soon as she remembered what happened to her. She noticed that she had a tape covering her mouth and her arms and legs were tied. She was sitting on the cold floor with her back to the wall. She looked around with a frightened look on her face. She was in a room with only a lightbulb as the source of light. There's only one door and a window on the right side of the room and two others at the wall she's leaning on. The windows were covered with curtains so she can't see the outside. She doesn't even know what time it is. Was it night time already?

Tears now flowed out of her eyes as she wondered what was gonna happen to her now. She wondered who would do this kind of thing to her. The door clicked open and Sakuno stiffened and watched in horror as a guy with a tattoo on his face and some earrings on his ear and nose entered.

The guy saw that she woke up and grinned at her. Sakuno shuddered.

_'What will he do to me? Will I get killed?' _Sakuno thought as she closed her eyes shut wishing that when she opens them, she's back to where she was supposed to be. Shopping with Kintarou.

But no, when she opened her eyes again, the guy was still there and what's worse is he's inching towards her direction. Sakuno tried to back away but couldn't go any farther since the wall is just behind her.

"There's no need to be scared. I won't hurt you unless you don't follow my instructions." The guy creepily said. Sakuno can't stop shaking and wished for someone, anyone, to save her. But that's not possible since she doesn't even know where she is and no one even knows she was kidnapped. She remembered Kintarou and hoped that he noticed she was gone and went to look for her. She wished that he would just appear behind that door and save her from this creepy looking guy.

The guy roughly removed the tape from Sakuno's mouth and Sakuno opened her mouth in pain. Her tears were still falling down and the guy continued to grin at her expression.

"Why are you crying? I didn't even do anything to you yet. Except remove this tape though so you could talk and have a chat with me." The guy said with a grin.

Silence followed as the guy waited for Sakuno to say something. But she didn't since she can't talk at all. If Sakuno could talk, she would ask this guy why he's doing this to her, where the heck she is and many other questions. The guy vein popped and slapped Sakuno's cheek with the back of his hand.

"Why aren't you saying anything at all, bitch?" The guy shouted. Sakuno's head met the floor due to the impact and more tears fell as she realized that she's gonna die in a place like this.

"What's wrong with you? People would normally scream and ask me a thousand questions but you're just silently crying there. You're so boring!" The guy shouted.

Sakuno continued to cry quietly as she lost all hope that she would come out of this place alive.

~xoxoxoxo~

The door banged open and the maids instantly turned towards it and saw a panting Kintarou.

"Did Sa-chan come back here?" Kintarou anxiously asked the maids. They all shook their heads and Kintarou ran back outside again to search for Sakuno.

Ryoma was practicing tennis with the wall when he heard maids chattering loudly amongst themselves.

"What's wrong with Kin-chan? He suddenly banged the door open and asking where Ryuzaki-san is."

"The head maid asked them to buy some food stocks so maybe Ryuzaki-san got lost along the way?"

"Kin-chan is over worrying. She just got lost right?"

"Maybe she was kidnapped!"

Ryoma stopped hitting the ball as soon as he heard the talk and the ball bounced to the ground. He quickly ran outside the mansion gates to help look for Sakuno as well while still carrying his racquet. He doesn't know why he's doing this. At first, he only wanted her as a wife since she's not like other girls that worship him. If he's just using her it doesn't mean that he has to save her from any troubles. He doesn't give a damn if anything happened to her but why? Why is he looking for her? Did Sakuno left an impression on him because of that last incident?

Ryoma shook his head to clear his thoughts and concentrated on searching for Sakuno.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kintarou continued to search every corners of the world for Sakuno. He almost bumped into a creepy looking guy who just went out of his house with an angry expression on his face. Kintarou stopped himself to avoid bumping into him and muttered an apology and continued on his way but the guy just ignored him and muttered something that made him stop and listen, "Stupid girl. Even after grabbing her ass she wouldn't say a word."

Kintarou widened his eyes and suspected the creepy looking guy of kidnapping Sakuno. He was desperate enough to suspect anyone who might have kidnapped Sakuno.

Kintarou removed his sword from its sheath and pointed it at the creepy looking guy and the guy raised his hands instinctively. A sweat fell from the guy's forehead and he nervously asked the knight, "Did I do anything wrong, sir?"

"You kidnapped someone am I right?" Kintarou asked as a bluff. The guy tried to think of an excuse. If he denied, the knight would still search inside his house and see that he was lying and that will be the end of him. Being honest would get his boss in trouble since he was sure he's gonna be interrogated on who ordered him to do this.

The guy slowly nodded as soon as he deduced that his life is more important than his boss. Kintarou got angry and was about to knock him out so that he can rescue Sakuno but Kintarou suddenly heard a smack like sound and the guy fell to the ground. Kintarou looked ahead and saw Ryoma with his tennis racquet. It seems as though Ryoma knocked the guy out with his twist serve.

Ryoma quickly ran inside the house leaving Kintarou dumbfounded. Kintaoru pouted.

"Why is he here? I'm the knight. I was supposed to rescue Sa-chan. But no, he just had to leave me to take care of this stupid guy here." Kintarou complained.

"Who the heck needs swords when you have a tennis racquet?" Kintarou sighed.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma searched all the rooms in the house for Sakuno and he finally found her on the final room of the hallway. Sakuno looked up at the person who just entered the room with a frightened expression on her face but saw that it was Ryoma and her tears fell out of joy of seeing him.

Ryoma stared at Sakuno's bruised body and hurriedly went towards her. He gently placed a hand on Sakuno's swollen cheek and rubbed it gently with his thumb. Sakuno closed her eyes and relaxed at his gentle touch.

"It's okay now. You're safe. Let's get you out of here and have you treated." Ryoma assured and carried Sakuno bridal style.

Kintarou watched with envy as he saw Ryoma come out of the house carrying a sleeping Sakuno and pouted, "No fair Koshimae! I found where Sa-chan is held first."

"Just tie that guy up and drag him with us." Ryoma ordered. Kintarou pouted even more.

Upon reaching the mansion gates, Ryoma and Kintarou noticed Kotoha standing outside the gates. Kotoha turned to them with a smile but suddenly turned into shock then anger when she saw Sakuno being carried by Ryoma.

"What are you doing here?" Ryoma asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

Kotoha looked behind Kintarou and saw a guy lying on the ground unconsciously being dragged around by Kintarou with a rope and replied, "Oh nothing. I just thought that you might've changed your mind about me but I guess not. I'll be taking my leave now."

Kotoha walked away and when she's far enough, she gritted her teeth and muttered angrily, "Tch, so the plan failed."

Ryoma and Kintarou watched Kotoha walk away and Kintarou commented, "It's weird for Koto-chan to be here. Do you think she might've had something to do with this incident?"

"Maybe. I saw her glance at that stupid guy's direction earlier." Ryoma answered.

"Well, it's bad to just suspect her. We'll know everything when this guy wakes up." Kintarou said. Ryoma just nodded and they continued walking inside the mansion.

**End of Chapter**


	5. Recovery

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews like always and the faves. I'm really, really sorry if I update really slowly. In any case, here's the next chapter. I don't think the other regulars will show up since I'm kind of trying to concentrate on Ryoma and Kintarou here. RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: Recovery <strong>

Sakuno was still sleeping soundly in her room after the incident. Tomoka worriedly watched over her and sometimes she would notice someone's presence behind the door. Tomoka tried to open the door once but no one was there. It wasn't a ghost mind you. Tomoka was sure that someone was worried about Sakuno and that someone keeps visiting but not entering her room. Maybe she should try leaving and hiding behind a corner and watch who goes near Sakuno's room.

Tomoka's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the bed creak. She looked behind her and saw Sakuno sit up slowly.

"Sakuno, are you okay?" Tomoka asked as she hurriedly ran beside Sakuno's bed.

Sakuno looked up at Tomoka and smiled at her. She was kind of happy that Tomoka was beside her the entire time. She felt sorry at the same time for making Tomoka worry about her.

Sakuno reached the bedside table where her board is and wrote something to Tomoka,

_I'm sorry for making you worry. _

Tomoka pouted, "Is that what you're supposed to say to me? You're suppose to say 'Thank you for worrying about me', not that sorry kind of crap."

Sakuno smiled at Tomoka apologetically but widened her eyes as she noticed tears falling out of Tomoka's eyes. Sakuno reached out her hand and wiped her tears. Tomoka touched the side of her face and felt that it was wet. She didn't notice that she was crying.

Tomoka hugged Sakuno, "I'm so glad you're safe. Let me worry about you just this once. You're my special friend you know." Tomoka said in between her hiccups and freely cried after talking.

Sakuno gently smiled and hugged Tomoka back. She felt a tear fall from her eye and she felt grateful again for having Tomoka as a friend.

~xoxoxoxo~

When the two girls calmed down, Sakuno wrote on her board,

_Where's Ryoma-sama? I want to thank him for saving me. _

"I don't know. I do sense a presence outside the door sometimes though. I bet it was Ryoma-sama being worried about you." Tomoka squealed. Sakuno blushed and shook her head denying that Ryoma would be worried about her.

"You're so modest, Sakuno. Nyahahaha!" Tomoka teased as Sakuno just lowered her head in embarrassment.

After a while, Sakuno wrote on her board that she would look for Ryoma. Tomoka grinned and let her go. Sakuno walked all around the mansion trying to look for Ryoma but to no avail. She decided that maybe Ryoma was in his room resting from all the events that had happened. Sakuno shuddered as she was reminded of the incident but shook her head and tried to concentrate on looking for Ryoma.

She stood in front of Ryoma's door and knocked gently.

"Come in." A weak reply was heard. Sakuno opened the door and was surprised to see Ryoma lying in bed. She quickly wrote on her board,

_Did I disturb your sleep? _

Ryoma shook his head and answered, "I'm just sick that's all. I can't even sit up."

'_Sick?' _Sakuno thought, _'If Ryoma was sick and couldn't even sit up then he can't possibly be the one who Tomoka noticed earlier.'_ Sakuno was a little disappointed that Ryoma wasn't that worried about her.

Ryoma noticed her frown a little and said, "It's just a fever. I won't die with that."

Sakuno looked up at Ryoma and realized that he was trying to cheer her up. Sakuno went closer towards Ryoma's bed and wrote on her board again,

_I wanted to thank you for saving me back then. _

Ryoma weakly nodded. Sakuno noticed that his eyes were slowly closing and decided to let him rest. She bowed her head and turned around to leave but stopped as Ryoma grabbed her hand. She quickly turned to look at Ryoma then to his hand holding hers. She blushed as Ryoma still won't let go.

"Stay here... with me... Don't... leave me... alone." Ryoma weakly said and finally his eyes closed and was sound asleep. The hand that was holding Sakuno's hand weakened and dropped to the side of his bed.

Sakuno was still blushing at the contact but nevertheless stayed beside Ryoma. She decided to sit on the sofa in his room and wondered if it was alright to sit there. After all, she was still a maid and Ryoma was still a prince. Their difference in status is just too great. Sakuno frowned.

_'It's just impossible that Ryoma-sama would fall in love with a lowly maid like me.' _

Sakuno walked towards the window and decided to stand and watch the view outside.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kintarou sighed as he walked down the hallway. He tried visiting Sakuno over and over again but hesitated to enter the room since he felt guilty. He blamed himself for what happened to Sakuno. He was a knight yet he couldn't protect her properly. What's worse is she was just beside him when it happened.

"I'm such a failure in life!" Kintarou shouted. The maids around looked at him in shock and some looked at him as if he was crazy.

Kintarou sighed again. Then he looked up with a determined look on his face.

_'I'm going to apologize!' _Kintarou decided and walked back towards Sakuno's room. The maids around sweatdropped at Kintarou's change of expressions.

Kintarou stood in front of Sakuno's room and breathed in and out. He knocked on the door hesitantly. Silence followed. Kintarou tried knocking again, a little louder but still silence followed. Kintarou now thought a lot of worst possible incidents that can happen and freaked out.

He quickly opened the door and shouted, "Don't hurt yourself Sa-chan!" but was met with air. He looked around and saw no one inside the room. Another worst possible incident appeared in his mind and he quickly ran towards the window and looked below.

"Did she jump from here?" Kintarou thought aloud.

Suddenly, Tomoka appeared behind the door and asked Kintarou, "What are you doing? Also, Sakuno has no reason to jump outside the window you know."

"Tomo-chan! Where's Sa-chan?" Kintarou asked frantically.

Tomoka sighed, "She went to look for Ryoma-sama to thank him. As of this moment, they're probably having their moment." Tomoka said with dreamy eyes.

Kintarou frowned and looked down, "Of course. Anyone would like Echizen. He's the prince, cool, good at everything he does. So different from me."

Tomoka stopped daydreaming and stared at Kintarou, "Tooyama?"

"Ah, what the heck! I wonder if Sakuno would change her mind if I was the one who saved her back then?" Kintarou said and walked out the door.

Tomoka watched his retreating figure with worry.

'_For Tooyama to call Ryoma-sama and Sakuno by their name, he must be really serious back then. He's jealous of Ryoma-sama? I never thought that would happen. I always thought that he's just a cheerful guy without any problems. To think that he was this jealous over Ryoma-sama all this time.' _Tomoka thought.

She looked outside the window and saw birds fly by, '_And to think that Tooyama would fall for Sakuno...' _

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma opened his eyes and saw only darkness. Ryoma realized he'd been sleeping all day until night came. He sat up and touched his forehead. It seems his fever broke down. He then noticed someone's presence at the side. There, illuminated by the moonlight, was Sakuno sitting on the floor as her head was leaned to the sofa, sound asleep.

He stood up and slightly wobbled since he was in bed the whole day and just got out of a fever. He walked towards her and squatted in front of her. He then remembered that he asked her to stay with him and to not leave him. Ryoma can't help but smile. She really didn't leave him. Ryoma reached out and tucked some of the hair in Sakuno's face behind her ear.

"But seriously, why are you sleeping on the floor?" Ryoma muttered. He decided to let her sleep in his bed and carried her there. He silently watched her as she snuggled on the soft covers.

"Thank you." Ryoma whispered.

**End of Chapter**


	6. Love

**A/N: Thanks to all those who put this on their faves or alerts or who reviewed. Sorry if I update so slow... I'm just a lazy being. Here's the next chapter. RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Love <strong>

The ray of the sun went inside the room directly glaring at Sakuno's sleeping figure. Sakuno moved and opened her eyes slowly and immediately used her hand to cover her eyes from the sun's glare. She sat up and looked around the room.

_'Where am I?' _Sakuno thought as she sleepily looked around the room. The past events flowed through her mind and she widened her eyes in realization.

_'This is Ryoma-sama's room isn't it? Oh no! Why am I on the bed?' _Sakuno panicked and she immediately jumped down from the bed.

The door suddenly opened and Sakuno turned to the door nervously while thinking negative thoughts such as, _'No! Someone will see me in Ryoma-sama's room and might misunderstand. What do I do?' _

Sakuno's knees weakened and she slid down to the floor.

"Are you okay?"

Sakuno turned to the door and saw Ryoma heading towards her with a worried expression on his face. Wait, why is he worried?

Sakuno nodded and Ryoma sighed in relief.

"What are you doing on the floor like that? It makes you look sick. It's even more possible since I was sick and you might've caught it since you were taking care of me." Ryoma said.

Sakuno looked around for her board and once she found it she wrote with a smile on her face,

_You seem talkative today. _

Ryoma blinked and looked away. He muttered while scratching his cheek, "If you get sick, it'll all be my fault. I don't want people blaming me when you get sick."

Sakuno smiled sadly. She wrote on her board,

_I have to work now. Thank you for letting me sleep on your bed. _

Sakuno stood up and quickly walked out of the door leaving Ryoma facepalming himself.

_'And I just wanted to thank her. Why did I say such unnecessary things?' _

"Koshimae's such a tsundere."

Ryoma turned to the door and saw Kintarou with his teasing face on. Ryoma vein popped.

"You wanted to say thank you but said unnecessary things right?" Kintarou innocently asked.

Ryoma looked suspiciously at him, _'Is he a mind reader?' _

"I'm not a mind reader."

"..." Ryoma's expression turned bored and he walked past Kintarou. He would go anywhere where Kintarou isn't there.

~xoxoxoxo~

"Wait! Wait I said, Koshimae!" Kintarou shouted as Ryoma ignored him and continued walking to god knows where. Ryoma suddenly stopped and Kintarou, who was chasing after him, bumped onto his back.

"Why did you suddenly stop?" Kintarou shouted as he rubbed his nose. Ryoma placed a finger on his lips signifying that stay quiet. Silence followed and then they both heard a voice from a room near them.

"_Where have you been, Sakuno?" _

Ryoma and Kintarou listened in on the door upon hearing the name, Sakuno.

_"WHAT? Really? You're so lucky, Sakuno!" _Tomoka screeched from the inside.

"What are they talking about? Why must Sa-chan be so quiet?" Kintarou whispered.

"She can't speak. Of course she's quiet." Ryoma answered bluntly.

_"By the way Sakuno, I have a story to tell you. Horio and me are going out now." _

Ryoma and Kintarou, who were eavesdropping, gaped their mouths open in shock. They thought of all the possible and very dangerous things that would happen to a two couple whose voices are like a megaphone and who fights all the time just by seeing each other. They both deadpanned.

**Flashback **

Tomoka was having her break from work when she noticed Horio doing gardener work. She watched him as Horio seriously does his job. Horio might be a loudmouth and always argue with her all the time but he really gets his job done. He must be the type of person that can do anything if he's serious.

Horio fell down from a tree while he was shaping its figure and he rubbed his aching back. Tomoka giggled. Horio turned around and saw Tomoka watching and giggling at him.

Horio vein popped, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." Tomoka said as she continued giggling. More vein pops appeared on Horio's head.

"Just leave already. You're distracting me from my job." Horio said as he stood up and picked up his shears.

After that day, Tomoka would always watch Horio doing his work when she's on break and everyday, her feelings for him would grow.

One fateful day, Tomoka approached Horio as he was weeding the lawn.

"Horio." Tomoka called out.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm working here? Geez, why do you always have to come here when you're on break. Are you doing this on purpose to distract me from my work?" Horio talked endlessly.

"I love you." Tomoka confessed as she blushed. Horio stopped whatever he was doing and he definitely stopped complaining.

"What? You do? I mean, of course you do! It's me after all, the great Horio-sama!" Horio bragged with a slightly shaking voice.

"Don't get cocky." Tomoka said in a low voice.

"Sorry."

**End of Flashback **

Ryoma and Kintarou, who were still not leaving their spot, sighed. They envied how their love was so successful despite their differences.

Then they both thought about what Sakuno's reaction to that story would be. They both imagined Sakuno writing on her board saying, "_I'm so glad for you!" _or something.

_"Sakuno, speaking of love, who do you like?" _Tomoka asked excitedly.

Ryoma and Kintarou gulped. They both leaned on the door to hear more but then they realized that Sakuno couldn't speak so they wouldn't hear. Dark clouds loomed over them.

Ryoma and Kintarou then noticed how interested the other is in learning who Sakuno likes.

"Why are you leaning on the door?"

"Why are you still here?"

They both asked at the same time. Silence followed.

"You know you won't hear anything." Ryoma said.

"Tomo-chan might shout the name out loud." Kintarou immediately answered.

Silence followed as they glared at each other. After a while of glaring, Ryoma stood straight and walked away.

"I don't care who she likes anyway." Ryoma said while walking.

Kintarou stared at Ryoma's back with a suspicious look.

_'You're such a bad liar, Koshimae.' _Kintarou smirked.

"_Kyaaa! I knew you would choose Ryoma-sama!" _Tomoka shouted from behind the door.

Kintarou turned to stare at the door. He frowned. Sadness and rejection overcame him.

"A knight is no match for a prince anyway." Kintarou whispered as his bangs covered his eyes.

~xoxoxoxo~

Another day passed and Sakuno was busy sweeping the floor of her assigned place. She was looking down on the floor she was sweeping and didn't notice the person that she was gonna bump into.

She grabbed her board, which was now tied around her neck to be easier to carry around and wrote,

_I'm really, really sorry. Please forgive me. _

She bowed over and over again and when she looked at the person she bumped into, she saw Ryoma. She blushed.

_I'm sorry Ryoma-sama. I was concentrated on looking at the floor that I didn't see you. I'm really sorry. _

"Stop apologizing already." Ryoma said. He looked at Sakuno and noticed the board tied around her neck.

"Did you think of that?" He asked, pointing to the string on the board. Sakuno shook her head and answered with a huge smile on her face,

_Kintarou-kun thought of this and made this for me. _

Ryoma looked away and glared at nothing in particular. Sakuno noticed his reaction and asked,

_Is something wrong? _

"Ryoma-kun." Ryoma muttered. Sakuno blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

"Call me Ryoma-kun." Ryoma said, making it clear. Sakuno blushed.

"You call Tooyama, Kintarou-kun. So call me Ryoma-kun." Ryoma said and he walked away, feeling a little embarrassed asking that of her.

Sakuno ran up to Ryoma and took hold of his shirt. Ryoma looked back and saw Sakuno nod shyly. He slightly smiled.

Kintarou saw the whole thing that happened from a corner. He looked ahead with a face full of determination. He has already made his decision.

**End of Chapter**


	7. Confession

**A/N: I don't really know what to write here anymore... Thanks to everyone supporting me, thanks for the faves like always. Are my chapters too short? Anyway, RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Confession <strong>

Ryoma walked along the hallway thinking deeply to himself. He stopped and facepalmed as he thought of what happened yesterday.

_'Call me Ryoma-kun.' _

Ryoma sighed. That was so out of character of him, _'What the heck's wrong with me nowadays?' _

He continued walking when he suddenly heard a hearty laugh from the kitchen. He peeked in and saw the object of his thoughts. Sakuno. With Kintarou. The laugh came from Kintarou.

_'What are they talking about?' _Ryoma thought as he leaned on the slightly open door thinking it might let him hear just a bit of their conversation. Unfortunately, he heard nothing.

Ryoma observed the both of them a bit more and his heart panged when he saw Sakuno smile so sweetly at Kintarou. Ryoma suddenly opened the door with a bang that made Sakuno and Kintarou turn towards him.

Sakuno had a surprised look on and Kintarou just shouted, "Koshimae?"

Ryoma, who just realized what he had done, blinked at them. He then shrugged and said, "Did I surprise you?"

"Heck yeah you did! I thought it was a gun shot at first." Kintarou complained as he shuddered. Ryoma just shrugged again and when he glanced at Sakuno, she blushed and bowed then ran out of the room.

Ryoma found her reaction as weird. Why the heck would she run at the sight of him? Did he do something wrong? He thought of things that he did and found nothing wrong.

"What were you talking about?" Ryoma asked Kintarou, thinking that she ran away because of some conversation they had.

"Nothing really. I just asked if the plan I thought of with her board worked well." Kintarou said as he placed his arms behind his head. His expression was then replaced with a teasing one and added, "Were you jealous?"

Ryoma sighed and answered, "No. Just curious."

"Just admit it Koshimae." Kintarou grinned as he teased Ryoma.

"What is there to admit?" Ryoma asked as he opened the fridge to look for something to drink.

"That you like her." Kintarou bluntly stated. Ryoma paused from his actions to look at his company with a glare. Kintarou gulped.

"And if I do admit it, it won't mean anything." Ryoma stated as he closed the fridge without getting anything and looked straight at Kintarou, "She already likes you."

Kintarou blinked, "Huh? Where in the world did you get that idea?"

"You can make her happy and smile like what she just did earlier." Ryoma muttered.

"Are you blind? Just one look at you and she blushes. She can't possibly like me but likes you instead."

"No. I make her get scared of me. Just one look at me and she stutters like mad. She's definitely scared of me."

Kintarou sweatdropped, "You're so dense, Koshimae."

"Maybe it's because of that time I did those things to her." Ryoma muttered lowly remembering his seduction plan to have her as his wife. Kintarou heard it and asked with a serious expression, "What time?"

Ryoma snapped out of his reverie and looked back at Kintarou, "Doesn't concern you."

Ryoma quickly left the room to avoid anymore interrogations from Kintarou.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kintarou leaned his back against the tree in the garden of the mansion. He sighed. He then heard a giggle from somewhere and he followed the voice with his eyes and saw Tomoka and Horio talking with each other. Tomoka smiled at Horio and Kintarou thought of how Sakuno smiled at him earlier at the kitchen.

_"You can make her happy and smile like what she just did earlier." _

Kintarou thought of what Ryoma said again and again. He then thought that maybe he still has a chance. Maybe Sakuno really do like him. Kintarou shook his head. It's not good to get your hopes up. He persuaded himself.

Kintarou then noticed a shadow approaching him. He looked up and his mouth opened when he saw Sakuno smiling down at him.

_Resting? _Sakuno wrote.

Kintarou nodded with a smile and patted the grass next to him, "Sit with me!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

Sakuno nodded and sat next to him. The wind blew softly and neither one of them was saying a word. They just watched the scenery in front of them. Kintarou glanced at Sakuno and saw her with a happy expression just watching the view. He slightly blushed and looked back at the view.

He remembered the time he saw Ryoma and Sakuno talking at the corridor about Ryoma wanting her to call him by his first name. He remembered the determination of wanting to confess to her at that time. But when he met her back at the kitchen, he lost all courage. What if she rejects her? It would stain their friendship and she might avoid him. He doesn't want that to happen.

Kintarou sighed. Sakuno looked at him with questioning eyes and Kintarou swallowed.

"Ah, it's nothing. Nothing at all."

_Sharing your burdens with someone might make you feel better. _Sakuno wrote on her board.

"Hahaha, you're the least person I want to share this with though." Kintarou nervously laughed as he scratched his cheek.

Sakuno frowned, misunderstanding what he said. She wrote,

_You don't trust me enough? _

Kintarou gulped. Now he feels guilty. Maybe he should just tell her.

"Ne, Sakuno. Who do you like better? Me or Koshimae?" Kintarou asked, looking straight into Sakuno's eyes. His face was painted with red as he asked. Sakuno blushed at his question and looked at different places showing how nervous she was.

"I don't mean anything with that. It's okay if you don't answer. I was just curious." Kintarou said as an excuse.

Sakuno looked back at Kintarou's face then to her board. With shaking hands, she wrote,

_Ryoma-kun. _

Kintarou widened his eyes when he read her answer. Then he smiled at Sakuno with a hint of sadness and said, "A prince is always better than a knight. From the start, I just knew you would choose him."

Sakuno shook her head furiously and wrote,

_Girls may always choose a prince but a knight is always the one saving them. _

After she wrote it, she stared at Kintarou with a determined look. It was as if she was asking him to believe what she wrote and not look down.

Kintarou snickered, "You're too nice, Sa-chan. You're the type of girl who only sees the good personalities of a person."

"You don't notice their flaws." Kintarou added as his bangs covered his eyes. He remembered the time when Sakuno got kidnapped. He made a big mistake to take his eyes of her. He felt like a failure when it happened. Yet, Sakuno never blamed him. She never even brought up the topic of how a knight failed in protecting a person who was just beside him.

Kintarou looked up as he felt a hand brush his cheek. Sakuno has her hand gently placed on his cheek with a worried expression on her face. Kintarou glanced at her board and saw what she wrote,

_Even though I said I like Ryoma-kun the best, you're still the best friend I could ever have. Second to Tomo-chan though. _

Kintarou smiled then laughed right after. Sakuno removed her hand from his cheek and tilted her head in a questioning manner.

"That's unfair! How is Tomo-chan in a higher status than I am?" Kintarou pouted. Sakuno blinked and laughed silently.

Kintarou stopped laughing and watched Sakuno laugh. Even with no sound, he can imagine how her laugh would've sounded. Not knowing what came over him, Kintarou leaned forward and pressed his lips against Sakuno's. Sakuno widened her eyes in shock. After a while, Kintarou pulled away a little and Sakuno could feel his hot breath against her lips. Her face turned red and she stared at Kintarou with a confused look. Kintarou leaned back and looked at Sakuno and widened his eyes.

_'Why did I kiss her?' _Kintarou thought.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma hurriedly walked along the hallway. Ryoma saw it. He watched as Kintarou leaned forward to Sakuno and kissed her on the lips. He saw it all. He clenched his fists as he headed towards his room. Once he entered it, he banged the door close and leaned on the door. He looked to his side and bit his lips. His angry expression from before turned into a sad one.

He now understood the feeling of rejection.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kintarou blinked and instantly stood up. He said, "I'm sorry." and ran away from the garden leaving Sakuno with a shocked expression.

She covered her lips with her hands as she leaned back on the tree weakly.

_'Kintarou-kun... He likes me?' _Sakuno thought. She couldn't believe it. Kintarou was too nice to everyone and she thought she was being treated the same way. She didn't know that she was treated differently from the others by Kintarou.

_Ryoma-kun. _

_I just knew you would choose him. _

Sakuno looked down at her board that was sitting on her lap.

_You're still the best friend I could ever had. _

She realized how hurtful those words she wrote are to Kintarou. Being treated only as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. A tear slid down Sakuno's face as she felt guilt running all over her body. She covered her face with her hands and cried.

_I'm sorry. _

_'I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm sorry.' _Sakuno thought over and over again.

**End of Chapter**


	8. Avoidance

**A/N: I uploaded since I felt like I was making you guys wait too long. Sorry for being so lazy T.T I always get a writer's block xD Anyway, thanks for the reviews and faves~ Hope you all continue to support my stories. RxR~ **

**~xoxoxoxo~ **

**Chapter Eight: Avoidance **

Ryoma walked down the hallway with his usual stoic face. Kintarou as well walked down the opposite hallway with his unusual serious expression. Sakuno, at the same time as well, walked down on a different hallway with a worried expression. When the three of them reached the main hall, they all stopped when they saw each other. Each thinking of different thoughts upon seeing each other.

Simultaneously, all three of them turned around and walked back again to the hallways they were previously walking on without saying anything to each other. Their actions were witnessed by Tomoka as she switched her stare back and forth between all three with a questioning expression.

_'Did something happen?' _

~xoxoxoxo~

Sakuno heaved a long sigh. She almost had a heart attack when she saw Kintarou. Upon seeing him, she remembered the kiss they shared. It was her first kiss. Sakuno didn't mind it at all that Kintarou was her first but she would've preferred it to be Ryoma. She shook her head upon thinking that and scolded herself since she's hurting Kintarou's feelings with her thoughts.

Thinking very deeply of the incident, she didn't notice that there was a person standing just in front of her waiting to be bumped into. And she did bumped into the person.

Sakuno looked up to see the person she bumped into while grabbing her board to write an apology when she found that it was Tomoka.

Tomoka smiled at her and said, "Don't worry. I was standing here the whole time but you were deep in thought and I didn't even bother moving even when I know we're gonna bump each other."

Sakuno looked at her questioningly thinking why she didn't move and Tomoka answered her gaze with, "Something happened right? You can share it to me. I won't tell anybody I swear."

Sakuno stared at Tomoka with wide eyes, _'Tomo-chan can notice stuff like that?' _Sakuno gently smiled, _'She really is my best friend.' _

And so, Sakuno related all that had happened between her and Kintarou.

~xoxoxoxo~

Kintarou frowned as he walked back. He halted and messed up his hair while shouting, "ARGH!"

Some maids who were passing by looked at him, surprised by his sudden outburst. Kintarou dropped his arms to his side and sighed, _'Why did I have to kiss her? If I didn't then we wouldn't avoid each other like this.' _

Kintarou stood still for awhile with his head bowed while thinking of many things including the incident that just occured. The face Sakuno showed him when they met at the main hall made him frown. She looked at him with an open mouth and it looked like she was scared of him.

Then another thing in that scene made him snap his head up.

_'Wait a minute. I saw Koshimae as well in that main hallway from the corner of my eyes. He also turned around and walked back. Why did he do that?' _

Moments of silence passed as Kintarou tried to think up of a possible reason why Ryoma would turn around as well. His face turned into a horrified expression when he thought that Ryoma might've seen them kiss.

"NOOO!" Kintarou shouted again making others look at him again in surprise.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma reached the garden and decided to stay there. It was peaceful enough to think. But thinking about it only hurted him. He should be distracting himself with noise and not residing in silence.

Ryoma sat and leaned on a tree. He looked straight ahead and saw another tree. It was that tree where he saw them kiss. Ryoma glared.

_She already likes you. _

_Huh? Where in the world did you get that idea? _

_'Where in the world my ass. Denying that she already likes him when it's true. They even proved it to me when they kissed each other.' _

Ryoma slid down until his back lay on the grassy field. He looked up at the tree covering up the sky.

_'Why am I even affected? Did I like her that much? I only thought about playing with her first but to think that my play would become this serious.' _

Ryoma shut his eyes closed as he felt the wind caress him.

~xoxoxoxo~

"Hmm, that's tough." Tomoka commented as Sakuno finished her story.

Sakuno looked down with a sad expression. Tomoka noticed this and tried to cheer her up, "Well, first thing you gotta do is to apologize to Kin-chan. Properly reject him as well since you already decided that you like Ryoma-sama."

Sakuno shook her head and wrote, _But I would just hurt Kin-chan more when I reject him. _

Tomoka sighed and shook her head, "No. It would only hurt him more when you don't reject him. It gives him hope that you will like him back as well. He's just gonna experience false hope."

Sakuno played with the hem of her skirt. Sakuno wrote, _I'll be going for a walk for awhile. _

Tomoka nodded with a sad smile. She watched Sakuno walk away and hope that all her problems be solved.

Sakuno walked and stopped at where her feet took her. It was the garden. The same garden where all her worries started. She felt the wind blew and closed her eyes to feel it even more. When she opened them, she saw Ryoma lying under the tree right across from her.

She meekly walked towards him thinking that maybe he can help her with her problems. But she stopped as soon as she thought that Ryoma might get irritated at her for telling him her problems which he doesn't care one bit about.

Sakuno was about to turn around when she heard something rustle and turned to look back at Ryoma who was now sitting and staring straight at her. She blushed at his intense stare and bowed her head to avoid his gaze. Her mind tells her to run away from him but she stood still as if her feet was glued to the ground.

Sakuno looked back up in disappointment as she heard Ryoma stand up and walk away from her without saying anything.

_'Is he angry at me? Did I do something wrong?' _

Sakuno wrote words on her board and ran right after to block Ryoma's way. It hurts to avoid Kintarou but it hurts even more when Ryoma avoids her without even knowing the reason why.

"Move aside." Ryoma sternly said.

Sakuno shook her head in response. She showed what she wrote to Ryoma and he looked away right after reading it.

_Why are you avoiding me? _

"Why are you talking to me when you could be talking with Tooyama?" Ryoma asked with a cold voice.

Sakuno widened her eyes and wrote, _What do you mean? _

"What do I mean? I bet you remember this place real well since this is where you kissed Tooyama yesterday if I remember correctly."

Sakuno looked down in shock. He saw it. Ryoma saw it. Ryoma was the least person she ever wanted to see that. She didn't even thought that someone would see them. Of all the people in the mansion, why did he have to be the one to see it?

Ryoma proceeded to walk past Sakuno but Sakuno suddenly grabbed his hand to stop him. Ryoma turned to look at Sakuno.

"Koshimae? And Sakuno-chan."

Ryoma and Sakuno turned towards the voice that called them maintaining their position. Kintarou looked at the hand that was being held by Sakuno. Kintarou's expression turned solemn upon seeing it.

"Uhm, am I interrupting something?" Kintarou hesitatingly asked.

Ryoma answered, "Not really." He took back his hand from Sakuno's hold which made her look down. Kintarou witnessed this and decided to help Sakuno to avoid seeing her pained expression.

"Koshimae? Did you and Sakuno-chan have a fight?"

Sakuno wrote on her board and showed it to Kintarou while Ryoma look at them with a stoic face.

_I'm really sorry for hurting you Kin-chan but I only treat you as a friend. _

Kintarou blinked and scratched the back of his head. His face showing that he was hurt but it quickly changed to fake smile.

"I-I get it. My hunch was right then. Koshimae really did saw it." Kintarou turned to look at Ryoma and said, "Don't avoid Sakuno-chan, Koshimae. I kissed Sakuno-chan without her consent. There's nothing between us so stop being jealous." Kintarou jokingly said trying to lighten up the dark mood.

"Who said I was jealous?" Ryoma snapped back showing his tsundere side. Kintarou laughed and commented, "There. You're acting more like yourself."

Sakuno looked up at Kintarou with a bright expression. Leave it to Kintarou to fix everything. Only he can be able to do this. Ryoma stared at Kintarou with a slight pout. It seems that everything is slowly turning back to normal. Sakuno giggled and of course no sound was heard but Ryoma and Kintarou noticed it. Ryoma gently smiled and Kintarou laughed with Sakuno.

"And Sakuno-chan, it's okay. We'll always be friends. No matter what happens." Kintarou reassured but deep inside him, it hurts.

Sakuno smiled at him and nodded. She's really happy right at this moment. The three of them made up and that's all that matters. She just wants them to always be together. She can't wish for anything more.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma yawned as he looked around his parents' room. He was glad that the incident was over and done with and now he was searching for a document about Sakuno's progress in her speech rehabilitation but his expression turned serious as he found something else. His eyes scanned the title of the folder over and over again.

_Ryuzaki Sakuno's profile _

**End of Chapter**


	9. Past

**A/N: Thank you for your support to this story and my others. I'm sorry if I upload slow nowadays since I'm graduating from high school and I have to settle some college entrance exams though like always I rely on stuck knowledge. Anyway, this is the next chapter and I think this'll end soon. I have a new story on my mind though that I've been wanting to write for the past months already. It's gonna be my masterpiece :) RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Past <strong>

"Isn't it good that you guys made up?" Tomoka asked Sakuno one day while they were working together in one place. Sakuno nodded at her friend's question happily.

"Now the only problem is how you'll confess to Ryoma-sama." Tomoka stopped doing whatever she was doing as she pondered. Sakuno sweatdropped but continued working.

"How's your speech rehab, Sakuno? It's better if you tell your feelings to Ryoma-sama with your own voice." Tomoka blabbered on, completely forgetting about her job.

Sakuno looked down with a sad expression. She did plan on telling Ryoma about her feelings with her own voice but her speech rehabilitation isn't going so well. It was harder than she thought it was and besides, even if she told him her feelings, there's no way he would accept. Even if he does accept, it wouldn't work. She was a maid and he was a prince. The gap is just too big. She's been too close to Ryoma that she has to remind herself that he was a prince. Sakuno snapped from her thoughts and quickly glanced at Tomoka to see if she just saw her sad expression. Fortunately, Tomoka was looking up thinking of plans on how to make Sakuno confess. Sakuno sighed in relief. She wouldn't want to worry Tomoka anymore after all the help she offered during her times of trouble.

"Yo, yo, yo!" A cheerful voice was heard which made Tomoka and Sakuno turn to the door to find Kintarou entering with a skip.

Sakuno smiled at him and he smiled back but Tomoka looked at Kintarou with a curious stare. Kintarou noticed this and facing Tomoka with a questioning look he asked, "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how you could be so cheerful despite being a knight. I mean, aren't knights supposed to be stoic and serious about their job?" Tomoka shrugged.

Kintarou pouted and made a thinking position as he looked up. A girl came in his mind and he opened his mouth slightly as he remembered his reason for being a knight. Kintarou grinned and he said, "I could tell the story since I just remembered but I would interrupt your cleaning."

"We'll clean while you tell then. We're only gonna listen anyway." Tomoka said as she finally continued cleaning making Sakuno sigh in relief. She was helping her clean at last!

**Flashback **

Kintarou was still 10 years old at the time and he was strolling around the streets that afternoon. He passed by an alley but walked back to it when he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He saw a girl being bullied by a group of three boys. Not the rape kind of bully. They were still children, mind you. Anyway, the boys were yanking the poor girl's freakishly long braids and even playing catch with the girl's stuffed rabbit. The girl would chase them around trying to get back her rabbit while crying but another boy would yank her braids making her unable to get back her rabbit and fall back instead.

"Give me back my rabbit!" The girl cried as she kept trying to get them back but the boys continued yanking and laughing at her suffering.

Kintarou couldn't take it anymore as he stomped towards them with an angry expression. It looks like he was only pouting though.

"Stop bullying her and give her back the toy!" Kintarou shouted at the group of boys. They all stopped and stared at Kintarou but the boys grinned evilly.

"Looky here. There's someone playing hero." One of them said. They left the girl and threateningly went towards Kintarou. Kintarou stood his ground though and glared at the boys courageously. Either he was stupid or just brave enough to face three boys.

Unfortunately, since Kintarou was just a kid, he had no experience in street fights and was ultimately defeated.

"This is boring." One of them said.

"Yeah, let's go get something to eat. I'm hungry." The group finally left while Kintarou lied on the ground panting and beaten up. The girl was standing there, scared to do anything and just watched while Kintarou was getting beaten up but once the guys were gone, she hurriedly ran towards Kintarou.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked.

"Do I look okay to you?" Kintarou deadpanned.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I'm really sorry I couldn't do anything." The girl apologized over and over.

Kintarou tried to sit up but found it hard to do so. The girl noticed this and decided to help him up. Kintarou leaned on the wall and looked at the girl. Now that he saw the girl's face clearly, she was kind of cute. Her hair was auburn, eyes were big and had the same color with her hair. She was hugging her rabbit. It seemed that the guys dropped it while they got busy with Kintarou.

The girl then felt her pockets looking for something while Kintarou wondered what the heck she was doing. It seemed the girl finally found it when she lifted up her face with a bright smile. It was a handkerchief. She wiped off the dirt and blood in Kintarou's face using her handkerchief. Kintarou blushed but flinched as she rubbed a wound. The girl noticed this and apologized again.

"You apologize too much." Kintarou said.

"I-I'm sorry."

"You did it again."

"I-" Kintarou covered her mouth with his hand and said with a grin, "I know already! You're sorry. You don't need to repeat it over and over again."

The girl nodded and when Kintarou removed his hand, she smiled. Kintarou felt his heart beat and he blushed asking, "Were you always bullied?"

The girl then frowned and nodded sadly. Kintarou wanted to punch himself. He shouldn't have asked. If he didn't ask, he would've seen her smile much longer.

"I've decided then." Kintarou suddenly said. The girl tilted her head questioningly.

"I'm going to become a knight and protect you from harm all the time! Not only you though, I will protect all the people being bullied in this world! I'm going to get stronger so you wouldn't see the pathetic side of me like earlier!" Kintarou shouted excitedly.

The girl's eyes sparkled and she encouraged him saying, "I'm looking forward to it! I'll cheer for you!"

**End of Flashback **

"Then since it was getting dark, we decided to go home after talking about my dream." Kintarou finished his story.

"So, what was the girl's name?" Tomoka asked.

"..." Kintarou smiled at Tomoka. Tomoka smiled back but had a vein pop in her head.

Tomoka's face then changed to an angry one and she shouted, "After all the talking you did, you didn't even bother asking her name? And I bet you didn't tell your name!"

Kintarou nodded while having his hands protecting his face from the enraged Tomoka. Tomoka sighed, "Then that promise was a little useless huh."

"That's not true! I bet she's still cheering for me in my heart." Kintarou pouted. Tomoka stared blankly at Kintarou, "You're so cheesy."

"I don't care. I still believe she's cheering for me." Kintarou continued pouting. His gaze then turned to Sakuno as he asked, "You've been quiet, Sa-chan. Is something wrong?"

"Of course she's quiet dumbass. She can't speak."

"I didn't mean that. She didn't write anything in her board all this time."

Sakuno was looking down thinking about something deeply. She then snapped back to reality as she noticed everything around her became quiet. She looked up and found Tomoka and Kintarou staring at her questioningly.

She quickly wrote on her board saying, _I'm sorry. I just thought of something. _

"What was it?" Tomoka asked.

Sakuno seemed to hesitate as she glanced at Kintarou and wrote, _I think I might've been that girl. _

Tomoka and Kintarou stared at her incredulously. Sakuno continued, _I remember being bullied and a boy saving me. The promise and the rabbit was a gift from my grandmother. _

After she wrote that, tears started to flow from her eyes. Tomoka and Kintarou didn't notice it since they were talking between themselves and that Sakuno bowed her head.

"Wow. Is this what you call fate?" Tomoka commented.

"Well, Sa-chan does look a lot like the girl in my memories. She had auburn hair and eyes like Sa-chan and it was in braids. It really is you!" Kintarou jawdropped.

"Maybe that's why I liked you so much when I met you." Kintarou muttered.

"But the girl in your memories can speak right? Sakuno couldn't..." Tomoka glanced at Sakuno beside her and noticed she was crying.

"Sakuno?" Tomoka worriedly asked but Sakuno ran out of the room.

"Eh? What? What happened?" Kintarou asked, confused as to why Sakuno suddenly ran out like that.

"She was crying. Now that you mention it, we don't know the real reason why Sakuno can't speak in the first place." Tomoka thought aloud.

~xoxoxoxo~

Meanwhile with Ryoma's side, he hurriedly walked to the living room where he learned where his mom was. When he entered the room, his mom was drinking tea and she smiled at Ryoma upon seeing him.

"Would you like to join me?" Rinko asked.

"Kaa-sama, what is this?" Ryoma asked as he showed his mom the profile he found in his parents' room.

"You snooped around our room? That was quite naughty of you Ryoma." Rinko gently scolded but continued smiling.

"I was looking for her speech rehabilitation results when I found this. The pictures look stolen which means she didn't apply to work here."

Rinko's smile disappeared and she answered seriously, "That's right. I found her outside our gates wearing rags and felt sorry for her that's why I hired her here."

"And the reason why she can't speak?"

"Oh my, you seem too interested in her Ryoma." Rinko teased as she smiled. Ryoma stared back at her blankly.

"Fine, fine. Anyway, I always see her outside our gates just sitting in her lonesome and I would order a maid to bring her some food. I asked someone to investigate her background and the result was what you're holding now." Rinko pointed at the folder Ryoma was holding.

"But that document has some missing details. The one I hired only told me the reason for the loss of her voice instead of writing it down. He said he interviewed some neighbors from where she lived at first and here's what they said..."

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma hurriedly headed to Sakuno's room. The details his mother told him echoed in his mind.

_"Her parents abandoned her when she was a baby leaving her in front of the doorstep which was owned by an old lady which Sakuno-chan treats as her real grandmother. She grew up really well, not letting the problem of her being abandoned get in the way of her happiness. But then her grandmother suffered a terrible disease and the neighbors heard Sakuno-chan shouting then running out of the house. Sometime later, she returned but... her grandmother already passed away. It seemed as though she said something horrible to her grandmother and it shocked her to the point that she decided not to speak anymore." _

_"What did she say?" _

_"I don't know. You better ask her yourself but Ryoma, she's suffering and she might not want to remember that incident anymore." _

Ryoma turned around the corner thinking, _'I don't care if she doesn't want to remember. I don't care if she suffers. Everyone feels suffering and she's just running away from it. She won't experience true happiness if she don't let that nightmare out of her head.' _

Ryoma reached Sakuno's room and knocked on it and opened it without waiting for Sakuno herself to open it. Ryoma saw Sakuno sitting on her bed stuffing her face with the pillow. Sakuno heard the door open and her head snapped upward seeing Ryoma.

Sakuno hurriedly hid her face back again using the pillow but Ryoma saw that she had been crying.

"I heard your story from my mom. The reason why you're unable to speak." Ryoma started as he walked towards the bed and sat on the end. "But she only told bits and pieces of it. Could you tell me the whole story?"

Sakuno shook her head behind the pillow. Ryoma got pissed off as he said, "Don't you know that it's better to share your problems with someone instead of just moping around? You'll feel better if you do. If you want, we can keep it a secret between the two of us."

And for the first time, Ryoma heard Sakuno speak.

**End of Chapter**


	10. Voice

**A/N: OMG! I'm really sorry for updating so late... You see I was playing Clannad and Kanon visual novel (and still am) and just finished a game (I'm such a gamer). Playing visual novels train my writing skills though :P Anyway, here's the next chapter and don't worry. Even if I don't update for a year (which I won't do I think), I don't leave my readers hanging. RxR~ **

**Special thanks to Kiyonora and E. Ryoko~ Your reviews are the most inspiring. Thanks to everyone as well since every review give me inspiration and a smile to my face. **

**Warning: Ryoma in his most OOC moment. He's just so hard to write T.T  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten: Voice <strong>

A soft, gentle voice. A voice that you could possibly compare with an angel's voice. Or at least it was in Ryoma's point of hearing.

"Ryoma-kun, why are you being so nice to me?"

Ryoma stared at Sakuno dumbfounded. He doesn't get anything. He thought she wasn't capable of speaking but how can she speak now? Just what the heck happened in her past. He needs to know.

"Maybe that's just how I really am." Ryoma answered with hesitation in his tone. _'Or maybe because I learned to love you that I can't leave you alone.' _He added in his thoughts.

Sakuno turned her gaze downwards. Deciding whether or not to tell him her story. Should she trust him? What a stupid question. Of course she would trust him. What kind of love would bloom if you don't even trust the person you like?

"Well..." Sakuno started.

**Flashback **

"Obaa-chan, I'm going to go out and buy your medicine." Sakuno said with a hint of desperation in her voice. She as about to go but was stopped with a hand holding her wrist.

"It's alright, Sakuno. If my time comes then it'll come. It's no use prolonging my life if it's time. It would only be a waste of money." Her grandmother said slowly, showing how weak she has become.

Sakuno flinched upon hearing those words come out of her grandmother's own mouth. She was going to give up just like that? She felt anger rising up her body and she exploded shouting at her grandmother with hurtful words.

"Why are you giving up so easily? It's not like you at all! D-Don't you know how sad it would make me feel if you leave me alone just like that? How lonely I would feel? I-I don't like you anymore!" Sakuno shouted as she ran out of the house leaving her grandmother with a sad look.

After a while, Sakuno came back into the house. In her hands, she was carrying medicines she bought for her grandmother despite her grandmother saying she doesn't have to. She slowly opened the door to her grandmother's room and upon seeing her asleep, she crept up to her carefully to not wake her up.

Sakuno stared at her grandmother's face, observing the face of the person who took and accepted all her well-being despite being adopted. Her hand came up to her beloved grandmother's face to tuck a lock of hair behind her ears but flinched as she felt coldness.

_'It can't be...!' _Sakuno thought as she dropped the medicines she just bought without caring if they break or not. She took off the blanket and positioned her ears in front of her grandmother's chest to check if there's a heartbeat or even soft breathing. But there was none. She straightened up and lightly shook her grandmother's shoulders.

"O-Obaa-chan? You're still awake right? You're just pretending so that you could teach me a lesson for shouting at you right? Ne, I don't hate you at all. I'm really sorry. Hey, stop pretending already and wake up. Please..." Sakuno continued talking as tears fell down her eyes. Her hands stopped shaking her grandmother's shoulders as her knees gave in and she fell to the floor holding her grandmother's cold hands.

**End of Flashback **

"I-I regretted it. I shouldn't have said those hateful words before she died. I haven't even apologized before she passed away. That's when I thought that if I don't speak anymore, I can't say any more hurtful words. After my grandmother's burial, I didn't go back home and just walked around aimlessly. It was one of those days that I decided that living isn't an option anymore and that I should just die." Sakuno said while tears fell out of her eyes.

"But your mother, the queen, found me and took care of me. That meeting gave me life once more. Everyday was so much fun. Especially my meeting with you." She added but her frown was now replace with a gentle smile.

Ryoma searched his pockets in case a handkerchief was hiding there but to no avail. He sighed and wiped her tears away with his thumb. After doing so, he held both sides of her face to look up at him.

"I'm sure your grandmother also felt sad with the thought of leaving you alone." Ryoma started.

"Before you came to her house, she was alone wasn't she? She must've been lonely all the time but when you came to her life, everyday was so much fun for you right?" Ryoma asked with a gentle voice.

Sakuno nodded. Ryoma kept that position, his hands not leaving her cheeks.

"She probably felt the same way and everyday was so much fun for her. And it's not like she gave up that easily. I'm sure she did everything she could to be able to stay with you."

"How would you know that? You haven't even met my grandmother." Sakuno said, looking away from Ryoma but he turned her head to look back at him.

"No grandparent would leave their grandchild like that. Be it adopted or not. She was thinking of you all the time. If you keep buying medicines for her and even bringing her to the hospital, your expense money would decrease and it would only be harder to live. Avoiding buying the medicines and just thinking of your basic needs, she decided it would be the best way."

"But I don't want to live alone like that. I would rather die starving with her than her dying alone."

Ryoma lightly smacked her head. Sakuno flinched and rubbed her head.

"No grandparent wants to die with their grandchild. She's old and you're young. She already lived her life but you still have a long way to go in life."

Sakuno looked down understanding what Ryoma, and maybe her grandmother, is telling her. Ryoma patted her head.

"How do you feel now?" He asked.

"Fine."

"Didn't I tell you that relating your problems to someone would make you feel better?"

Sakuno shook her head disagreeing with him. Ryoma looked at her questioningly.

"I only feel better because it was you I told my story to. And because of your... theories of what my grandmother would've felt." Sakuno smiled.

Ryoma didn't quite get it and looked confused. Nevertheless, he reached behind Sakuno and removed something from her neck. It was her board.

"You don't need this anymore right?" Ryoma asked showing Sakuno the board.

Sakuno thought for awhile and nodded, "Can I keep it? Kintarou-kun bought it for me after all."

Ryoma twitched in annoyance upon hearing her muttering someone else's name. Ryoma almost didn't give the board to her because of it. Almost. He gave it to her in the end. Rather, Sakuno quickly took it from him by force.

"Well, since you're feeling better now, I should leave and let you recollect your thoughts." Ryoma said while walking towards the door. With the door almost closing, Ryoma heard Sakuno say something through the small gap in the door.

"I'm glad you're the one I fell in love with, Ryoma-kun."

**End of Chapter**


	11. Feelings

**A/N: Nyahahaha! It's almost ending! I think... Anyway, thank you for your support and I hope you like it till the end. Although, this must be a boring chapter... I don't have a lot of vocabulary in my head. Anyway, don't forget to RxR~ **

**Disclaimer applies. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Feelings <strong>

Ryoma leaned on the door to Sakuno's room. The words Sakuno said kept replaying in his mind.

_I'm glad you're the one I fell in love with, Ryoma-kun. _

Ryoma felt this indescribable feeling in his heart. His mouth turned into a smirk at first but quickly changed into a smile then he coughed a laugh. Ryoma slapped a hand on his face and thought, _'What the heck's wrong with me?' _

Kintarou, who was walking by, noticed Ryoma leaning on Sakuno's door with a happy expression on his face. He tilted his head as he decided to ask him what's going on.

"Koshimae! What are you doing?" Kintarou shouted. Ryoma got surprised and immediately turned to Kintarou. Then he realized they were still outside Sakuno's room and he ran to Kintarou and covered his mouth with his hand as he dragged him away from the room. Sakuno might hear them and would wonder why he was still outside her room.

Kintarou deadpanned as he struggled. When he was free he shouted at Ryoma saying, "K-Koshimae! I'll behave now so don't rape me!"

Ryoma blankly stared at Kintarou. With a vein pop in his head, he smacked Kintarou on the head. Real hard.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" Kintarou said while rubbing his head.

"Stop saying nonsensical things." Ryoma pointed out. "I wasn't trying to rape you. Not in a million years."

"I was just kidding. Anyway, you're the crazy one laughing by yourself outside Sa-chan's room." Kintarou said. Then he thought that something might have happened between them. Kintarou frowned at the thought. After being rejected by Sakuno, he still can't get over his love for her.

A thought flashed in Kintarou's mind and he seriously looked at Ryoma. Ryoma noticed this and questioningly looked at Kintarou.

"What?" Ryoma asked.

"Echizen... Now I get it." Kintarou seriously said. Ryoma gulped seeing Kintarou was serious about whatever he was thinking since his name was correctly said.

"You're a tsundere and when I'm with you, you're tsun tsun but when you're with Sa-chan, you're dere dere! Then when you're alone, you are a yandere!" Kintarou shouted his 'serious' statement.

Ryoma once again blankly stared at Kintarou. He walked away after deciding to ignore his stupidness. So much for thinking he was serious about it.

Kintarou ran after Ryoma shouting, "I was just kidding! Ahahaha!" while Ryoma continue to ignore him.

~xoxoxoxo~

A few days passed, Sakuno came out of the room of the head maid after receiving orders to go shopping, leaving the head maid with her mouth agape. It was the first time she heard Sakuno's voice and it was still a shock to her.

Sakuno smiled. She still wasn't used to using her voice but she always practice in a mirror how to converse with a person, sometimes with Tomoka's help. When Tomoka heard her voice for the first time, tears actually fell out of her eyes out of happiness. Then she hugged Sakuno, even almost choking her.

As she opened the front door of the mansion, Ryoma appeared behind her asking, "Where are you going?"

Sakuno turned around then blushed upon seeing him. She looked down as she answered, "S-Shopping."

Ever since that incident with Ryoma, she can't look straight at his face anymore. She just suddenly blurted out that she loves Ryoma but she doesn't know whether he heard her or not. She wished real bad that he didn't hear but she still doesn't know since Ryoma's been acting the same towards her all this time.

_'Well, at least he's not ignoring me.' _Sakuno thought to cheer herself up.

"Hn. I'll come with you." Ryoma said. Sakuno widened her eyes but still kept her gaze down.

"B-But, people would recognize you as the prince and it would be a lot of trouble." Sakuno stuttered.

"I'll wear a disguise." Ryoma said as he put up his hood over his head.

Ryoma then walked out the door and said, "Let's go."

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma and Sakuno walked side to side as they headed towards the marketplace. Sakuno kept a fair distance from Ryoma and tried hard to not look at him. Ryoma scratched his head and asked, "Are you avoiding me by any chance?"

Sakuno flinched as she stopped taking a step. Ryoma stopped as well and looked back at Sakuno.

"I-" _Bump. Thud. _

Sakuno was interrupted as she was bumped by someone and her and that someone fell to the ground.

Ryoma rushed to Sakuno's side and helped her up. They then looked at the person they bumped into.

"Ouch! Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." The girl looked up and the three of them gaped.

"YOU!" They all pointed at each other. Apparently, it was Kotoha they just bumped into.

Kotoha stood up by herself and removed the dirt on her clothes. She then crossed her arms as she said, "What? Going on a date?"

"N-No. We're just shopping." Sakuno immediately denied.

Kotoha widened her eyes and commented, "Oh, you can talk now? That was surprising."

"What are you doing here?" Ryoma butted in.

Kotoha looked at him skeptically.

"I'm not allowed to be here? As far as I could remember, anyone can be here since this is a public place. Not your house."

Ryoma glared. Kotoha glared. Sakuno shrunk into the background.

Kotoha stopped glaring and sighed making Ryoma and Sakuno look at her questioningly.

"Anyway, I'm done chasing after you. I already found a guy more handsome and sexier than you!" Kotoha pointed at Ryoma, which made Ryoma glare at her again, and laughed evilly. Sakuno sweatdropped. It seems Kotoha's attitude changed big time.

Sakuno's brain then connected what Kotoha just said. She has a different guy now? Boyfriend? Sakuno widened her eyes and held Kotoha's hands which shocked Kotoha and Ryoma.

"Congratulations!" Sakuno said.

Kotoha blushed, "W-What are you saying? Are you that happy that you can have that guy for yourself?" She said as she tried to remove her hands from Sakuno's grasp. But Sakuno held them tightly.

"No. I'm just happy that you found your happiness." Sakuno said.

Kotoha blushed again then said, "W-Well, thank you then."

"What kind of guy is he?" Sakuno asked, still holding on to Kotoha. Kotoha slightly backed away thinking, _'What's with this girl? Acting like she's a close friend of mine. I hurt her haven't I? Why would she befriend someone who hurt her?' _

Kotoha stopped thinking and smiled, "His name is Oshitari Yuushi. I was actually attracted to his friend at first but his friend doesn't seem interested in me and rejected me but Oshitari-san cheered me up. That's why I fell for him."

_'Maybe it's just her personality. She's just a kind and forgiving person.' _Kotoha concluded.

Sakuno nodded, "Guys who cheer up girls are the best." It seems that Sakuno hangs out with Tomoka too much making her talkative.

Kotoha agreed, "That's right. They look so cool!"

Ryoma stared at the scene in front of him with a bored look but his brain was thinking, _'What the heck just happened? Tsk. Girls.' _while shrugging and shaking his head.

Ryoma couldn't take the girl talk anymore right in front of his eyes so he held Sakuno's hand and dragged her away from Kotoha.

"Let's go already."

Kotoha vein popped as she shouted at Ryoma, "Hey! That's rude you know! We were in the middle of talking!"

Ryoma looked straight ahead and ignored her. Sakuno looked back at Kotoha with an apologetic face and Kotoha just sighed. When Ryoma and Sakuno were out of view, Kotoha smiled sadly. Seeing Sakuno's kindness, she felt guilty of all the harsh things she did to her. She didn't even get to say sorry. But even without saying it, it seems Sakuno already forgave her.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma and Sakuno continued heading to the marketplace. Unknown to them, they were still holding hands. They were too busy with their own thoughts. Ryoma thinking what Sakuno was about to answer before getting interrupted by the annoying Kotoha. Sakuno thinking about the awkward moment and silence being alone with Ryoma.

They snapped out of their thoughts when they heard some people giggling and whispering, "Look at that couple, they're so cute. Are they on their first date?"

They then finally noticed that they were still holding hands and immediately let go. Sakuno blushed while Ryoma just looked away.

"So, what was your answer earlier?" Ryoma started.

Sakuno looked down. To tell the truth, she wasn't sure what she was gonna answer back then. She opened her mouth thinking that an answer might come out but...

"HEEEY!"

Ryoma and Sakuno flinched again and looked to where the voice was coming from. Ryoma deadpanned.

"Koshimaeee! Sa-chaaaan! How dare you leave me all alone?" Kintarou shouted running towards them. Ryoma grabbed Sakuno's hands and said, "Let's run."

"Eh?" Sakuno muttered but before asking why, she got dragged by Ryoma. Kintarou blinked at them and shouted, "You won't get away from meeeee!"

Kintarou ran faster and was gonna catch up to the two. Ryoma thought of something. Sakuno can't keep up with his pace leaving Ryoma no choice but to carry her. And he did making Sakuno blush and Kintarou gape as he tripped due to the shock.

"No way! Koshimae! Don't kidnap Sa-chan from me!" Kintarou whined.

~xoxoxoxo~

Ryoma stopped running when he found that Kintarou wasn't following anymore. He panted as he thought, _'Why do we keep getting interrupted?'_

"Uhm, Ryoma-kun? Why did we have to run away from Kintarou-kun?" Sakuno asked.

Ryoma stared at Sakuno which made her blush and look down.

"I wanted to talk with you privately."

Sakuno blushed redder and fiddled with the basket she was carrying.

"Uhm, the head maid might get mad at me for taking too long."

"I'll persuade her to let you off the hook."

Sakuno bit her lower lip. Ryoma continued to stare at Sakuno's bowed face.

"So you really are avoiding me." Ryoma whispered. Sakuno closed her eyes as she thought, _'No, that's wrong.' _

"Or maybe you're bothered about whether I heard you or not back then."

At this, Sakuno widened her eyes.

_'Did he hear what I said? Did he?' _Sakuno thought over and over again as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. She was thinking what to do if she get scolded? Get rejected? Should she run away? Never to come back?

Ryoma saw Sakuno tensed as soon as he said that and realized that that was her problem. He patted her head. Sakuno looked up at Ryoma immediately. He noticed the tears forming and wiped them away with his thumb.

"Look, I don't know how to say this but..." Ryoma paused as he reached for his pocket. He then took Sakuno's left hand and slipped a ring on her ring finger. Sakuno gasped and turned to look at Ryoma.

"I heard what you said. This may not be the right place for this but would it be all right for you to be my fiancee?" Ryoma said while scratching his cheek. Geez, they were in a public place for heaven's sake. Good thing the people were busy with their own lives and wasn't minding them.

Sakuno opened her mouth but no words came out. She continued to stare dumbfoundedly at the ring.

"If you're asking why, it's because I need one or my mom will kill me." Ryoma said. Sakuno looked down, _'That's all? Am I being used?' _

"That's not all." Ryoma continued, cutting off Sakuno's thoughts making her look back at his face, "Because... you're the only one who accepts me for who I am, not for what I am."

Sakuno blushed as she held her hand with the ring, feeling the ring on it.

"Am I enough? I'm just a maid. I'm even lower than a normal person. Won't it ruin your reputation? Choosing a maid?" Sakuno asked, her voice shaking.

"I don't care what others say. As long as they don't bother us." Ryoma said while placing his hand on Sakuno's cheek. He leaned closer to Sakuno's face and asked again, "Will you accept me?"

Sakuno bowed her head but with Ryoma's hand on her cheek, he made her look at him again. Sakuno blushed and opened her mouth but no words came out once again. Her mouth quivered.

Ryoma leaned back his head away from Sakuno's and asked, "Should I give you more time?"

Sakuno immediately said, "No! I-I... I accept."

Ryoma blinked. A smile then formed on his face and he leaned closer to Sakuno's face again. But this time, their lips met. Sakuno blushed, unsure of what to do. Finally, she closed her eyes, feeling comfortable now and kissed him back.

When Ryoma pulled away, he sweatdropped as he looked around. People were staring at them. Sakuno wanted to faint right then and there with all the attention she was receiving.

Ryoma noticed this and decided to tease his new fiancee. He pulled back his hood showing his face to the public and announced, "I am Echizen Ryoma, prince of Seigaku kingdom and this is the person I chose to be with. Please give us your blessings."

Sakuno plus the people gasped at Ryoma's announcement. A short silence followed after his speech then a clap was heard. They all looked to the person who clapped and to Ryoma and Sakuno's surprise, it was Kintarou.

"Congratulations, you two!" Kintarou shouted.

The others followed his example and clapped all the while shouting congratulations to them. A person owning a flower shop gave them a bouquet of white roses.

The flower shop owner explained the meaning of the white rose.

_"A white rose means eternal love, silence or innocence, virtue, purity, secrecy, humility, reverence. We wish you eternal happiness." _

**End **

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><p><strong>AN again: ... When I first started writing, I didn't expect that it would end... wtf... I just got the white rose meaning from wikipedia by the way. And also, the idea of KotohaxOshitari was from the pair puri books. In words for the two corner for Yuushi and Kenya. Read it to see xD It was just a small hint. Seriously though, it ended? I'm speechless... Thanks for everyone's support! See you all in my other or next fics!**


	12. Omake

**A/N: Surprise! Surprise! lol :P this is nothing special though. Just an omake/extra or something. **

**Disclaimer applies. **

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><p><strong>Silent Love Omake~ <strong>

"I'm gonna be marrying this woman."

Rinko looked up from the papers she was reading. She glanced at Ryoma then at Sakuno. Sakuno gulped.

_'She's gonna reject this idea. She's gonna reject it. I'm pretty sure she will not allow her son to marry a peasant like me. It's all over!' _Sakuno panicked in her mind.

"When will you two have the wedding?" Rinko asked.

Ryoma and Sakuno blinked.

_'What? What just happened?' _Sakuno thought. If she wasn't in the presence of the queen, she would've had her jaw dropped to the floor.

"It's okay?" Ryoma asked again to make sure.

Rinko smirked. Ryoma twitched.

_'So mom can also smirk...' _He thought.

"I already predicted that you would choose her ever since she entered this mansion." Rinko told them.

_'Is she psychic?' _Ryoma and Sakuno simultaneously thought.

"Also, don't bother asking your father for permission. He only agrees when the girl is cute and Sakuno-chan's cute so it's okay." Rinko said while waving the papers she was holding. Meanwhile, Sakuno blushed at the compliment.

"I never planned on asking him anyway. He would only harass her if I did." Ryoma said as he closed his eyes imagining what would happen.

Ryoma and Sakuno then left the room leaving Rinko smiling to herself.

"Koshimae! Sa-chan! Be prepared!"

The mentioned people looked up only to come face to face with Kintarou. Who else would call Ryoma, Koshimae, anyway?

"For what?" Ryoma boredly asked.

"For my objection in your wedding." Kintarou grinned. Ryoma glared.

"Kintarou-kun..." Sakuno looked at Kintarou with pleading eyes.

Kintarou chuckled, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I would never do that!"

With that answer, Sakuno smiled. Until...

"I think..." Kintarou added.

Ryoma smacked Kintarou on the head and said, "Would you quit it already."

Kintarou laughed heartily as he ran away from the annoyed Ryoma with a hand on his aching head.

With the two of them alone now, there was awkward silence.

"Ryoma-kun, let's tell your father." Sakuno said, breaking the silence. Ryoma looked at her.

"You sure?"

Sakuno nodded.

Ryoma sighed and grabbed Sakuno's hand as they went to where Nanjirou was.

**End (for real)**


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